TPO consent or a conservation area tree notice

Two separate procedures protect trees in England, and they work in opposite directions. A tree covered by a tree preservation order needs an application for consent, which the council decides. A tree in a conservation area needs six weeks written notice, after which you may proceed unless the council has made an order in the meantime.

One asks permission. The other gives warning. Using the wrong procedure is a criminal offence rather than a paperwork error, which is why it is worth ten minutes checking before the tree surgeon arrives.

What a tree preservation order controls

An order made under section 198 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 prohibits cutting down, topping, lopping, uprooting, wilfully damaging or wilfully destroying a protected tree without the council's written consent. Orders can cover individual trees, groups, areas or whole woodlands.

An application for consent goes to the council on the standard form with a plan, a description of the work proposed and the reason for it. There is no fee. The council normally determines it within eight weeks, and it can grant consent, grant it subject to conditions, or refuse.

Conditions commonly require the work to be carried out to a British Standard specification, within a stated period, and by a competent contractor. Replanting is frequently required where a tree is removed.

There is a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate against a refusal or against conditions, and against a failure to decide within the period.

What a conservation area notice controls

Section 211 of the same Act applies to trees in a conservation area that are not already covered by an order. It requires six weeks written notice to the council before works are carried out.

The notice applies to trees with a stem diameter of more than 75 millimetres measured at 1.5 metres above ground level, or more than 100 millimetres where the work is thinning to help the growth of other trees. Smaller stems fall outside it.

During the six weeks the council decides whether the tree merits protection. If it makes an order, the ordinary consent procedure then applies and the work cannot proceed without consent. If it does nothing, the work may be carried out once the six weeks expire, and the permission lasts two years from the date of the notice.

The notice is not an application. There is nothing to grant, no conditions and no appeal, because the council has not decided anything.

The two side by side

Exemptions that apply to both

A short list of works fall outside both procedures, and they are narrower than most people assume.

Dead trees may be removed, but notice must be given to the council five days beforehand except in an emergency. Trees presenting an immediate risk of serious harm may be dealt with urgently, with notice given as soon as practicable afterwards. Keep photographs and, where possible, an arboricultural opinion, because the burden of showing that the exemption applied falls on the person who did the work.

Other exemptions cover work by statutory undertakers, work required to implement a full planning permission, some work to fruit trees grown for fruit production, and work required by an Act of Parliament. The overlap with planning permission is narrower than it sounds: it covers work necessary to carry out development already permitted in detail, not work that would be convenient for a scheme you intend to apply for.

Never rely on the dangerous tree exemption as a substitute for a notice where the tree is merely awkward. Councils prosecute.

Replanting duties

Remove a protected tree in contravention of an order and a duty to plant a replacement arises, enforceable by the council through a tree replacement notice. A similar duty applies to trees in conservation areas removed without the required notice.

The council can specify the species, size and position of the replacement. It is not a symbolic requirement, and a replacement notice runs with the land, so it survives a sale.

Where a consent has been granted subject to a replanting condition, plant within the period stated. Missing the planting season is the usual reason this goes wrong, and the council will not always be flexible about it.

Penalties

Cutting down, uprooting or wilfully destroying a protected tree, or damaging it in a way likely to destroy it, is an offence that can attract an unlimited fine on conviction. Courts take account of any financial benefit gained, which matters where the tree stood in the way of a development.

Lesser works in breach carry a lower maximum penalty, and both the person who carried out the work and the person who caused or permitted it can be prosecuted. A contractor instructed by a homeowner is not the only one at risk.

Checking which applies

Work through it in order.

1. Ask the council whether the tree is subject to an order. Most publish a searchable map or register, and the planning department will confirm by email. Get the answer in writing.
2. Check whether the property sits in a conservation area, using the council's mapping.
3. Measure the stem diameter at 1.5 metres above ground if the conservation area route applies, since smaller stems are outside it.
4. Check any planning permission affecting the site for conditions protecting trees, which bind separately from an order.
5. Ask whether the tree is on a boundary or in a neighbour's ownership, because the procedure is the same but the civil position is not.

Where trees affect a development proposal rather than simply needing maintenance, a survey to the relevant British Standard is the document to commission, and a tree survey supports both the application and any consent sought for works.

For works that form part of a development, the interaction with the permission matters, and the mechanics of changing or discharging conditions are covered in discharging conditions or amending a permission. Where the question is whether the works need any consent at all, the distinction between certificates and applications in lawful development certificate or planning permission is a useful comparison.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval. Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which documents a tree related application is likely to need.