Tree preservation order against conservation area notice
Under a Tree Preservation Order the council has to say yes. For a tree in a conservation area, six weeks of silence is enough. The two regimes look similar and work very differently.
Two different legal regimes protect trees in England, and people apply the wrong one constantly. A Tree Preservation Order protects a named tree, group or woodland, and works to it need a written application and a decision from the council. A tree in a conservation area that is not covered by an order is protected by a notification procedure instead: you tell the council what you propose to do, wait six weeks, and if nothing happens you may proceed.
The practical difference is that under an order the council must say yes. In a conservation area, silence is enough.
Two regimes, two procedures
A Tree Preservation Order is made by a local planning authority under section 198 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and the procedure is set by the Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) (England) Regulations 2012. It identifies specific trees on a map and schedule. Cutting down, topping, lopping, uprooting, wilfully damaging or wilfully destroying a protected tree without consent is an offence.
Section 211 applies to trees in conservation areas that are not already covered by an order. It requires six weeks' written notice to the authority before carrying out works. During those six weeks the council can make a Tree Preservation Order to protect the tree properly. If it does not, and the six weeks expire, the works may go ahead and must be carried out within two years of the notice.
| Tree Preservation Order | Conservation area, section 211 | |
|---|---|---|
| What is protected | Named trees, groups, areas or woodlands on the order map | All trees above the size threshold in the area, unless already under an order |
| What you submit | An application for consent to carry out works | A written notice of the intended works |
| What the council does | Grants, grants with conditions, or refuses | Either makes an order within six weeks, or does nothing |
| If nothing happens | Nothing. You still need consent | After six weeks you may proceed, within two years |
| Appeal | Yes, to the Planning Inspectorate against refusal or conditions | None, because there is nothing to appeal |
| Replacement duty | Yes, where a tree is removed | Yes, where a tree is removed |
Check both before touching anything. A conservation area tree can also be subject to an order, in which case the order governs and the six week notice does nothing for you.
What the six week notice period allows
The notice must describe the works and identify the tree, and the description has to be good enough for an officer to understand what is proposed. "Prune trees in rear garden" is not. "Reduce crown of sycamore at rear boundary by 2 metres, and remove lowest lateral limb over the shed, in accordance with BS 3998" is.
Three things happen during the six weeks. The tree officer visits or reviews the case. If the tree has amenity value worth protecting, an order is made, at which point you are into the other regime and you need consent. If the tree has little value, or the works are reasonable, the period expires and you may proceed.
Do not start early. Carrying out works to a conservation area tree without giving notice is an offence in the same way as breaching an order, and the six weeks runs from receipt rather than from posting.
The two year expiry catches people out. A notice served in spring for works you decide to do the following autumn is fine. A notice served two years ago is not, and a fresh notice is needed.
Size threshold matters too. Section 211 applies only to trees above a stated diameter measured at 1.5 metres above ground level, with a lower threshold where the work is thinning to improve the growth of other trees. Measure before assuming a small tree is exempt, because the threshold is smaller than most people guess.
Applications for consent under an order
Under an order there is no deemed consent and no clock that runs in your favour. You apply, using the standard form, and the authority determines it.
What makes an application succeed:
- A clear plan identifying each tree by its number on the order schedule.
- A precise specification of the works, written to the relevant British Standard for tree work rather than in loose terms.
- The arboricultural reason for the works: condition, structural defect, disease, proximity to a structure, or a management objective such as reducing sail area on a mature specimen.
- Supporting evidence where the case is about damage or risk: a report from a qualified arboriculturist, photographs, crack monitoring data for a subsidence claim, drainage survey results for a root ingress claim.
- Replacement planting offered where removal is sought, with species, size and position.
The authority can refuse, or grant consent subject to conditions, including a condition requiring a replacement tree. Refusal or conditions carry a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, and the appeal is determined on the arboricultural and amenity merits.
Where the works are needed to implement a planning permission, consent under the order is not required for works to trees where the permission itself authorises them, but that exemption is narrower than applicants assume and depends on the permission and its drawings. Do not rely on it without checking.
Exemptions for dead or dangerous trees
Both regimes carry exemptions, and they are the source of most enforcement disputes.
A dead tree may be removed under either regime on giving five days' notice to the authority, except in an emergency. Works necessary to remove an immediate risk of serious harm are exempt, again subject to notice where practicable.
The word doing the work is immediate. A tree with a structural defect that will probably fail at some point in the next few years is not an immediate risk, and felling it under the exemption is an offence. The safe route is a written report from an arboriculturist, photographs taken before the work, and notice to the council even where notice may not strictly be required.
The evidential burden sits with the person who carried out the works. If you cannot show the tree was dead or dangerous, the prosecution does not have to show that it was not. That is why the photographs matter, and why they should be taken before the chainsaw rather than of the stump.
Other exemptions cover works by statutory undertakers in defined circumstances, fruit trees cultivated for fruit production in some cases, and works required by an Act of Parliament. Read the regulations rather than a summary.
Penalties and replacement duties
Penalties reflect the seriousness of destroying a protected tree. Contravention can be tried in the magistrates court or on indictment, and the court must have regard to any financial benefit that has accrued or is likely to accrue from the offence. That matters where the tree was removed to make a development site work. That matters most where a tree was cleared to make a development site work, so the exposure is worth understanding before a contractor starts.
The replacement duty is the part most people never hear about. Where a tree protected by an order is removed in contravention of the order, or because it was dead or dangerous, the landowner is under a duty to plant a replacement of appropriate size and species at the same place, as soon as reasonably possible. The duty runs with the land, so it passes to a subsequent owner. A similar duty applies to trees in conservation areas removed following a section 211 notice.
Authorities enforce the replacement duty by notice, and failure to comply can be enforced in the same way as other planning breaches.
Checking which regime applies to your tree
- Search the council's website for its Tree Preservation Order map or register, and check the address. Many authorities now publish orders as a mapped layer.
- Check the conservation area map separately. The two do not coincide.
- Cross-check the national datasets published on planning.data.gov.uk, which aggregate council-supplied tree preservation order and conservation area boundaries.
- Check the local land charges search from your conveyancing file, which should record both.
- Where the tree stands on or near a boundary, establish ownership before doing anything, because ownership determines who may authorise the work and a neighbour's consent may be needed.
- If the position is unclear, write to the tree officer and ask. They answer, and the reply is evidence.
Where works are proposed as part of a development, the tree information belongs in the arboricultural impact assessment with the order or conservation area status recorded against each tree in the schedule. Officers check that column first.
An illustrative example
A householder in a conservation area wants to remove a 450 mm diameter sycamore from a rear garden and reduce a neighbouring lime. The sycamore is not on any order. A section 211 notice is served describing both operations with reference to the relevant British Standard. Three weeks later the council makes an order over the lime because of its contribution to views from the street, but takes no action on the sycamore. After six weeks the sycamore is felled lawfully and a replacement fruit tree is planted. The lime works then require a separate application for consent, which is granted with a condition limiting the reduction. This example is illustrative.
Getting the sequence right
Establish the status, then specify the works properly, then apply or notify, then keep the paperwork. Most enforcement cases start with a contractor who was told the trees were fine.
If your works form part of a wider scheme, resolve the tree position before the planning application rather than after, because a refusal that turns on tree loss is much harder to recover than a design that retained the tree in the first place. Working out which of the supporting documents a scheme needs is the sensible starting point, and a landscape strategy showing replacement planting often does more for a case than an argument about the tree that is going. Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports your site needs.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority's tree officer and a qualified arboriculturist before carrying out any works. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a TPO and a conservation area tree?
A Tree Preservation Order protects named trees on a map and schedule, and works need a written application and the council's consent. A tree in a conservation area that is not under an order is protected by section 211, which requires six weeks' written notice. If the council does nothing in that period, the works may proceed within two years.
What happens during the six week notice period?
The tree officer assesses the tree. If it has amenity value worth protecting, the council makes a Tree Preservation Order, and you then need consent under that order instead. If it does not, the period simply expires and the works become lawful. The six weeks runs from receipt of the notice rather than from the date you posted it.
Can I remove a dead or dangerous tree without permission?
A dead tree may be removed under either regime on giving five days' notice, except in an emergency, and works to remove an immediate risk of serious harm are exempt. The word immediate does the work: a defect that may cause failure in a few years is not an immediate risk. Take dated photographs and get an arboriculturist's report before the work.
Is there a size threshold for conservation area trees?
Yes. Section 211 applies only to trees above a stated diameter measured 1.5 metres above ground level, with a lower threshold where the work is thinning to improve the growth of other trees. The threshold is smaller than most people assume, so measure rather than deciding by eye that a tree is too small to be caught.
Do I have to replace a protected tree I remove?
Usually. Where a tree protected by an order is removed in contravention of the order, or because it was dead or dangerous, the landowner must plant a replacement of appropriate size and species at the same place as soon as reasonably possible. The duty runs with the land and passes to a later owner, and councils enforce it by notice.
Can I appeal a refusal of consent under a TPO?
Yes, to the Planning Inspectorate, against a refusal or against conditions imposed on a consent. The appeal is determined on the arboricultural and amenity merits. There is no equivalent appeal under the section 211 procedure, because a notice produces no decision to appeal against; if the council makes an order, you apply for consent under it.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.