There are three reliable ways to find out. For a quick, indicative answer, our free protected tree checker reads the national planning dataset and tells you whether protection is recorded at the location you enter. The definitive record is the register held by your local council. You can also contact the council directly and ask, which is worth doing before any work starts on a tree you suspect may be protected.
What a tree preservation order means
A tree with a tree preservation order, usually shortened to TPO, cannot lawfully be worked on without the council’s consent. That covers pruning as well as felling, and the penalties for unauthorised works on protected trees can include unlimited fines, so it is never worth guessing.
A tree can also be protected without an order of its own. If it stands in a conservation area, you must give the council six weeks written notice before carrying out works.
Protection matters at boundaries too. A tree belongs to the land its trunk stands on, and overhanging branches may usually be cut back to the boundary. That does not hold when the tree is protected, so check before you cut anything. This is general information, not legal advice; if you are unsure, check with your council.
Start with the free online checker
The quickest first step is the checker on our website. It is free to use and there is no obligation attached. It reads the national planning dataset and gives you an indicative answer for the tree you are asking about.
Indicative is the operative word. The checker is a first pass, not the final word, because the council’s register is the definitive record. If the checker suggests a tree may be protected, or if you are planning works either way, confirm the position with the council before you start.
The council register is the definitive record
Councils hold the definitive registers of protected trees. Whatever an online tool tells you, the register is the record that counts, so any decision about works should rest on it rather than on an indicative result.
Asking the council directly
If you cannot find what you need, contact the council and ask. Give the property address, describe where the tree stands, and ask them to confirm whether a tree preservation order applies and whether the property sits in a conservation area. Ask for the answer in writing; it is useful to be able to show that you checked before any work was done.
Buying a property with trees
Protected trees are a question to settle before you buy, not after. Landowners owe a duty of care for their trees, so a mature tree comes with responsibility as well as character. Before you commit:
- Run the address through the free checker for an indicative picture of any protection.
- Ask the seller whether any of the trees are protected.
- Confirm the definitive position with the council’s register before you exchange.
Trees can affect more than the garden. On shrinkable clay soils, trees can be implicated in subsidence, which is another reason to know exactly what stands on the plot and what you are permitted to do about it.
If the tree turns out to be protected
An order does not mean nothing can ever be done. It means the council’s consent is needed first, and the sensible starting point is a clear account of what the tree actually needs. Our surveyors carry out tree surveys across Preston, Lancashire and the North West from our base at Freshfield Farm in Freckleton. Every survey is priced and delivered on its own, the findings are what the trees need, and you are free to take the report to any contractor you choose. If you would then like us to do the work, we can, as an ARB Approved Contractor (AC2637), but nothing in the report depends on that. Our survey work is covered by £1m professional indemnity insurance.
If you would like help working out whether a tree is protected, or what it needs, use the free scope check form or call the office on 07884 274693. We quote within one working day, survey visits happen within days, not weeks, and the price we quote is the price you pay.
