Cutting down or pruning a protected tree without permission is a serious matter. Penalties for unauthorised works on protected trees can include unlimited fines. Checking a tree’s status takes seconds, so it is never worth guessing.
What makes a tree protected?
There are two common situations. The first is a Tree Preservation Order, usually shortened to TPO. Works to a TPO tree need consent from the council before anything is cut. The second is a conservation area. Works to trees in a conservation area need six weeks’ written notice to the council before they start.
In both cases the council is the authority. Councils hold the definitive registers of protected trees, so if there is any doubt about a particular tree, check with your council before work begins.
What can happen if you go ahead anyway
Penalties for unauthorised works on protected trees can include unlimited fines, so there is no fixed ceiling to plan around. And because councils hold the definitive registers of protected trees, whether a tree was protected is a matter of record, not opinion.
A protected tree on your own land is still protected. Ownership does not remove the need for consent or notice. This is general information, not legal advice, so if you are already in this position, speak to your council before doing anything further.
Checking takes seconds
Before anyone touches a tree, find out whether it is protected. Our free protected tree checker reads the national planning dataset and gives an indicative answer straight away. It is indicative only. The council’s register is definitive, so use the checker as the first step and confirm with your council before works go ahead.
Boundary trees catch people out most often. A tree belongs to the land its trunk stands on, and overhanging branches may usually be cut back to the boundary. That does not apply when the tree is protected, so the protection follows the branches over your fence. If a neighbour’s tree overhangs your garden, check its status before you cut anything back.
What if the tree is dangerous?
Landowners owe a duty of care for their trees, so a tree that looks unsafe cannot simply be ignored. Even so, felling first and explaining later is the wrong response, and it is how people end up facing penalties. Where a tree is genuinely dangerous there are proper routes for dealing with it, and they start with establishing what condition the tree is actually in.
A professional tree risk assessment records the tree’s condition and whether any work is justified. With that in hand you can go to your council with evidence rather than a worry, and any urgent work happens on advice rather than instinct. Whatever the situation, get advice before anyone starts cutting.
Independent advice, then the work if you want it
Our surveys are priced and delivered on their own. The findings are what the trees need, nothing more, and the report is yours to take to any contractor you choose. If you would then like us to carry out approved works, we can do that as an ARB Approved Contractor (AC2637), but the advice never depends on it.
Our surveyors work across Preston, Lancashire and the North West from our base at Freshfield Farm in Freckleton. We quote within one working day, we carry out survey visits within days, not weeks, and the price we quote is the price you pay.
If you are unsure what you are allowed to do with a tree, tell us about it through the free scope check form or call the office on 07884 274693. A few minutes checking now is far better than an unlimited fine later.
