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Protected trees in Preston

Tree Preservation Orders in Preston: the report, the application and the works

If a tree on your Preston site has a TPO, or stands in one of the city’s eleven conservation areas, you cannot simply cut it. You need to know what protection applies, put the right report and application in front of the council, and then have the work done properly if consent is granted. Great Oaks handles all three stages, and you can stop at any of them.

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How protection works here

TPO or conservation area: two different rules

Every report is written in house by our own qualified surveyors, who walk the site in person rather than working from photographs.

A Tree Preservation Order protects a named tree, group or woodland; working on it without consent is an offence, and for the most serious breaches the fines can be unlimited. A conservation area protects trees by notice instead: you must tell the council six weeks before working on most trees inside one, which gives it time to decide whether to step in. Preston City Council holds the registers for the city, including the conservation areas around the centre, Avenham and Winckley Square. Penwortham, Leyland and Bamber Bridge sit with South Ribble, and Kirkham and the coast with Fylde. The council’s own register is always the definitive record, and our free protected-tree checker gives an indicative answer in seconds.

The report

Consent applications stand or fall on evidence. Our team surveys the tree, records its condition and setting, and writes the supporting report the council expects: what the tree is, what is proposed, why the work is justified, and what remains afterwards. The report stands on its own, and you are free to take it to any contractor or agent.

The application

If you want us to, we prepare and submit the application or the conservation-area notice with the report behind it, worded the way tree officers expect, and deal with questions that come back. Many firms will sell you a survey and stop there. We see it through.

Then, if consent is granted

The same firm can do the works

We are an ARB Approved Contractor, so the pruning, felling or dismantling the consent allows can be carried out by our own crews, working to the conditions the council sets. The survey never depends on the works: it is priced and delivered on its own, its recommendations are what the tree actually needs, and where no work is justified the report says so. If works do follow, they are quoted separately and you are under no obligation to use us. But if you want one firm from first letter to final sweep-up, that is exactly what we are set up to do.

How it runs

From letter to consent, step by step

  1. Check the protection. Use the free checker, or send us the council’s letter. We confirm which register applies and what consent route you are on.
  2. Survey and report. We visit, assess the tree, and write the supporting report. Quotes go out within one working day and the price is all-in.
  3. Application or notice. Submitted with the evidence behind it, by you or by us, whichever you prefer.
  4. The works, if granted. Carried out by our crews to the consent conditions, or by any contractor you choose. Your call.

Background reading: working on trees in conservation areas, how Tree Preservation Orders work, and what a Section 211 notice is. For planning applications involving trees, see BS5837 tree surveys in Preston.

Questions Preston applicants ask

Asked most often

How do I find out if my Preston tree has a TPO?+

Preston City Council holds the register for the city. Our free checker gives an indicative answer from the national data in seconds, and we confirm the position with the council before any work is priced. The council’s register is always the definitive record.

What is the difference between a TPO and a conservation area?+

A TPO protects a specific tree or group and requires consent before work. A conservation area protects trees by notice: you tell the council six weeks in advance, and it can object or let the work proceed. Different paperwork, same principle: check before you cut.

Can you make the application for me?+

Yes. We survey the tree, write the supporting report, and can prepare and submit the application or conservation-area notice on your behalf, then deal with the council’s questions. You can also take our report and apply yourself; it stands on its own either way.

If consent is granted, can you do the work too?+

Yes. We are an ARB Approved Contractor and our own crews carry out pruning, felling and dismantling to the consent conditions. The works are quoted separately from the report and you are never obliged to use us for them.

What happens if someone works on a protected tree without consent?+

It is an offence, and for the most serious breaches the fines can be unlimited. Genuinely dangerous trees can be made safe, with the evidence recorded and the council notified. If you think a tree is an immediate risk, call us before anyone cuts.

Need the report or application?

Send the council’s letter or tell us about the tree. Free scope check, all-in quote within one working day.

Start the scope check

Or call 07884 274693

Consent already granted?

If you hold consent and need the works carried out to its conditions, our crews quote and do the job.

Get a works quote

Or call the tree work line 07884 274693