Tree Protection Orders, Conservation Areas and Council Applications
Tree Protection Orders, conservation areas and council applications can be daunting and time-consuming to navigate. Our experienced tree surgeons will take care of the council applications on your behalf, free of charge, before undertaking any work. In this guide we’ll tell you all you need to know about protected trees and how to deal with them.
There are two ways in which a tree might be protected: Tree Protection Orders, which protect a specific tree or group of trees, and conservation areas, which protect trees in a certain area.
Tree Protection Orders
A Tree Protection Order (TPO) is made by a Local Planning Authority (LPA) to protect trees for public enjoyment or environmental reasons. If you have a protected tree on your property, you will likely have to request permission before conducting any work on it. Failing to get this permission can lead to an unlimited fine – so if you’re in any doubt it’s well worth speaking to a qualified arborist first.
What should I do if my tree is protected by a TPO?
You can find out from your LPA if a tree on your land is protected by a TPO. If it is, you will need to get permission from them around eight weeks in advance of any work you want to undertake. This applies to almost all work, including crown reductions and thinning, and especially if you are considering removing the tree.
Making a compelling application to the LPA can be challenging. Our experienced arborists would be happy to make these applications on your behalf, free of charge, before we start any work. Councils are often reassured if they know that a request is coming from a qualified tree surgeon. If you are planning to conduct work on a protected tree, get in touch and we can talk you through the process.
Exceptions to this process
If a tree poses a serious health and safety risk, you can notify the LPA of your plans to have work undertaken to make the tree safe, rather than having to ask permission. You should submit this notification as soon as you know that this work is required, and the work carried out should only be enough to make the tree safe.
There are also exceptions for removing dead trees and branches. If a whole tree is dead, you should provide the LPA with five days’ notice before having the tree removed, but again permission is not required. However, you will have a duty to plant a replacement tree. Removing dead branches requires no LPA approval or notice.
Conservation Areas
Conservation areas protect areas of historic or architectural interest rather than specific trees. There are around 10,000 conservation areas in the UK. Many people don’t realise that trees in these areas are also protected. Undertaking work on a tree in a conservation area without permission could lead to an unlimited fine, so it’s best to seek expert advice if you’re considering any work.
What should I do if I live in a conservation area?
You must notify your LPA of any work you plan to undertake on trees in a conservation area that are wider than 75mm in diameter. This notice will have to be supplied six weeks in advance of any work, but unlike for TPOs you do not need explicit permission from the LPA. Once the six weeks have expired, unless the council have objected, you are free to undertake the work. If the council do object they will normally take out a TPO to protect the tree.
Exceptions to this process
The same exceptions apply as do for TPOs: undertaking works on dead or dangerous trees requires only five days’ notice, or less if you can prove the work is urgent. You’ll need to show that you plan to only undertake works that are needed to make the tree safe, and the Government recommend having a professional tree surgeon on hand to provide this advice.
Important Considerations
Undertaking unauthorised works on any protected trees can lead to significant fines. It’s important to get proper advice before taking action. We’d be happy to work with you through this process – get in touch to find out how we can help.
We’re often asked about our tree surgeon costs. A range of factors determine tree surgery prices, so the best thing to do is to get one of our quick and easy no-obligation online quotes. In the meantime, this guide will help you understand the costs of hiring a tree surgeon, and why it always pays to use a professional…
Tree Surgeon Costs – What to Consider
When our expert tree surgeons assess your job to provide you with a free quote, there are a range of important factors that will influence the price. First and foremost is the size and complexity of the job: Full conifer tree removal is more complex and would cost more than stump removal, for example. Stump and tree removal also both require specialist machinery, and properly trained individuals to handle it.
We also have to consider other factors such as accessibility and safety. How much tree topping costs, for example, will depend on the height of the tree and how easily we can gain access to the tree and its upper branches.
It’s important to consider that our tree surgeons are qualified experts, and will give you the best possible finish. They always work in a safe and responsible way and are fully insured against damage to themselves, or for the unlikely event of there being damage to any property. We clear away all debris and mess and leave you with nothing but a perfect garden to enjoy (saving you a trip to the tip!).
Head over to our services page to learn more about what we offer, see videos of our team at work, and hear testimonials from some of our many happy customers. And remember, you can get a free, no-obligation quote online within 24 hours, so there will be no surprises.
Why You Should Always Use a Professional Tree Surgeon
Many people when considering tree service prices will find themselves tempted to try and do the work themselves. Tree surgery is a dangerous and complex activity. Sadly we hear too many stories of people injuring themselves or damaging their or their neighbour’s property by undertaking work themselves. The Health and Safety Executive describe tree surgery as “a hazardous occupation resulting in many injuries each year” (hse.gov.uk). Not only are our tree surgeons fully qualified and highly experienced, they are also fully insured. This means that in the very unlikely event that anything goes wrong, you will not be liable for any injuries or damage to property, giving you total peace of mind.
We are also experienced in dealing with protected trees. If you are not an expert it is all too easy to get on the wrong side of the laws in place to protect certain trees. We save you time and worry by taking care of any council applications needed for free, helping you avoid potentially thousands of pounds in fines.
Most importantly though, with our professional tree surgeons you can always expect the very highest standards of work. Whether it’s a tree removal, stump removal, tree topping, or any other service, we have the skills, equipment and expertise to give you the best finish possible. Check out our testimonials page to hear from other satisfied customers across Southampton, Winchester and the New Forest.
Tree surgeon costs don’t need to be a mystery – get in touch with us for a free, no obligation online quote, and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours.
Overhanging Trees and Hedges
If your neighbour has trees or high hedges near your border, it’s possible that at some point without proper care, they could begin to encroach into your garden. We know that this can affect the enjoyment of your garden and even create hazards due to overhanging branches. In this guide we’ll explain the options available to you to reclaim your space.
- Speak to your neighbour
The most important first step is to discuss the issue informally with your neighbour. Not only is this the simplest and cheapest option, it is also a step that councils will require you take before you raise a formal complaint.
It helps to have the facts clear in your mind before speaking to your neighbour. Check the location of the tree or hedge against your property documents to be certain of ownership: a tree or hedge straddling a border is the joint responsibility of residents on each side.
Remember to keep good documentation of the discussions you have with your neighbour so that everyone is on the same page.
- Prune the tree or hedge yourself
If for whatever reason you’re unable to reach a solution with your neighbour, you are still entitled to take action yourself. If a tree or hedge is growing over your land, you are allowed to cut it back to the border line, even if that requires you to climb into the tree to do so. It is worth noting that your neighbour continues to own the tree, even the pieces you cut off! So you should ask your neighbour’s permission before disposing of them.
You should be careful to check that the tree is not covered by a Tree Protection Order or Conservation Area before undertaking any work yourself.
- Hire a professional
You could be held liable if you create lasting damage to your neighbour’s hedge or tree, so employing the services of a professional is often the best approach. If you want the best results, or if the job is beyond your abilities, you should hire a professional tree surgeon to cut the hedge or tree back for you.
We provide a range of residential tree and hedge maintenance services and would be happy to talk you through your options. If the tree is covered by a conservation area or a Tree Protection Order, we’ll even take care of the council applications on your behalf.
- Contact your council
If you’re still unable to resolve the issue, it may be time to involve your council. They may suggest a mediator for you and your neighbour to help settle the issue amicably. Failing that, it may be time to lodge a formal complaint. Your council’s website will provide guidance on how to do this, but they will want to know that you’ve attempted to resolve the issue informally first. The council will charge a fee to complain, typically around £400, to avoid frivolous claims.
The tree or hedge will need to be over 2m tall, and you’ll need to be able to demonstrate that it is already affecting the enjoyment of your garden.
The council will review both sides of the dispute, and either reject your claim or issue a notice for the work to be undertaken, specifying when and how the work should be completed. They cannot order that a hedge or tree be entirely removed, or order work that would result in the death of a hedge or tree.
If a tree or hedge is preventing the happy enjoyment of your garden, get in touch and we’d be happy to talk you through the best options.
Video: Removing 80 Ash Trees at Night
The work we do tends to be very noisy so most of the time we work during the day but sometimes it’s actually less disruptive for us to work at night.
Ash Dieback is a big problem at the moment. It’s a serious fungal disease that has killed a lot of ash trees across the UK.
An infected tree becomes weaker and can end up being a safety hazard, especially along a highway.
We recently had to remove 80 mature ash trees, that were succumbing to the disease, from the side of a busy road in Hampshire.
Due to the size of the trees and the machinery required there was no way we could this without closing the road so to minimise disruption to road users we worked at night.
It took us 3 nights to remove all 80 trees. You can see some highlights of the work in this video.
We started at dusk and worked throughout the night, lit up by generator powered flood lights and headtorches so that we could see what we were doing.
The road provided great access for us to use a crane grab saw with a 16m reach and elevating cab. As you can see in the video this piece of machinery is great for cutting off the top of an ash tree.
80 trees produce a lot of waste. We rapidly filled up articulated lorries with woodchip produced by an Albach Dimante 2000 Chipper, the best in its class, and renowned throughout the arb world for its innovation and technology.
We had a lot of fun on this job and are pleased to have played a part in keeping this road safe to drive along.
If you need an ash tree removing that has succumbed to ash dieback get in touch, we provide free quotations within 24 hours.
Protecting Trees Before a New Build Development
Protecting trees during construction projects is important as it’s not easy to replace veteran trees, like a 300-year-old oak!
Construction traffic, plant operations and the storage of site materials in the wrong place can all lead to accidental tree damage.
Action needs to be taken to protect the tree and roots from accidental damage before any construction work can take place.
Dandara have been building award-winning homes for over 30 years but before they could get started on the construction of 400 new homes, they needed to make sure all trees on the site were protected.
We recently installed over 4km of tree protection fencing for them as part of our BS5837 root and tree preservation service. The fencing was positioned so as to create a safe exclusion zone around the trees, staggered so as to protect the canopies as well. It’s strong enough to act as a robust physical barrier in the event of accidental machinery collision.
We used anti-climb fencing throughout, which also helps to protect the construction site against trespassers. For the most part the fencing was attached to scaffolding poles buried deep into the ground as this provides the strongest fence.
After careful analysis, we opted to use rubber feet instead of scaffolding poles for certain sections of the site. This was to avoid causing damage to dormice habitats as they burrow in the top layer of soil and foliage. It’s important to consider this ahead of time, before driving a scaffolding pole into the ground, as dormice are found in very few places in the UK and are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.
Now that are fencing is in place Dandara can now get plant, machinery and materials on site to start the process of building hundreds of new homes.
