What a Tree Preservation Order Actually Protects

A Tree Preservation Order, almost always shortened to TPO, is a legal designation made by your local planning authority under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. It protects individual trees, groups of trees, or whole woodlands from being cut down, topped, lopped or otherwise damaged without the council's written consent. Crucially, an order attaches to the land rather than to the person who planted the tree, so it survives a change of ownership and stays in force indefinitely unless the council decides to revoke it.

Orders come in several shapes, and it helps to know which one you are dealing with. Some name a single tree, often a fine mature oak or a rare specimen. Others cover a group or a defined area, and these are frequently older orders drawn up in the 1960s and 1970s. Woodland orders work a little differently, because they generally allow a modest amount of thinning as part of sensible woodland management. If you own or manage woodland, read the schedule attached to the order rather than assuming the usual garden rules apply.

There is no statutory minimum size for a protected tree, although many councils will not make a new order for a tree with a trunk diameter under roughly 75mm measured at 1.5 metres above ground. That is guidance, not law, so never assume a slim tree is automatically safe to work on.

How to Check Whether a Tree Is Protected

Before you sharpen a saw, do the paperwork. Most councils publish an interactive map of TPOs and conservation areas on their website, and a quick search by postcode will usually tell you what you need to know. Treat that map as a starting point rather than a final answer, though, because mapping data is not always perfectly up to date.

If anything is unclear, ask the council's tree officer in writing and keep the reply. A short email confirming that a tree is or is not protected is worth far more than a neighbour's opinion. It is also worth knowing that conservation areas carry their own protection: you must give the council six weeks' written notice before felling or pruning most trees there, even when no TPO exists.

What You Need Permission For — and What You Don't

Consent is required for felling, topping, lopping, uprooting, wilful damage and wilful destruction. Pruning that goes beyond light tidying counts as lopping, so the safe assumption is that any work affecting the shape or size of a protected tree needs approval.

There are genuine exemptions, and they are narrower than many people hope:

• Dead, dying or dangerous trees — you may carry out the work, but you must give the council at least five working days' written notice first, unless the tree poses an immediate risk to life or property.
• Trees grown for commercial fruit production — orchard trees cultivated for fruit are generally exempt, though this does not cover a fruit tree in a domestic garden.
• Works required by other legislation — for example, work ordered by a statutory undertaker or authorised by a separate planning permission.
• Removing deadwood — cutting out genuinely dead branches to improve safety is usually acceptable, but confirm the position with the tree officer.

The Overhanging Branches Myth

You have a common law right to cut back branches that overhang your boundary from a neighbour's tree, provided you offer the cuttings back and do not trespass to do the work. That right does not override a TPO. If the tree is protected, cutting those branches without consent is an offence, regardless of whose side of the fence they hang over. The same applies to roots. This is one of the most common misunderstandings we see, and it is an expensive one to get wrong.

Applying for Consent: A Practical Walkthrough

• Describe the work precisely. "Reduce by 2 metres and thin the crown by 15 per cent" is a proper specification. "Tidy the tree up" is not, and vague applications are often refused or granted with awkward conditions.
• Explain your reasons. Safety, light, structural damage and disease all carry weight. Aesthetic preference on its own rarely does.
• Submit the form to the planning authority and keep a dated copy. There is no fee for a TPO application.
• Wait for the decision. Councils have eight weeks to determine most applications, and if they fail to decide in that window consent is usually deemed granted — but always get that confirmed in writing before starting.
• Complete the work within two years of consent, and stick to exactly what was approved.

Penalties, Replacements and Choosing Your Arborist

Cutting down or damaging a protected tree without consent is a criminal offence. In the magistrates' court you can be fined up to £20,000 per tree, and the Crown Court can impose an unlimited fine. The council can also serve a replacement notice requiring you to plant a suitable tree of an appropriate size in the same spot, and it may recover any profit you made from the timber.

All of this becomes far simpler when you work with a qualified arborist who holds the relevant insurance and understands the local authority's expectations. Ask to see their qualifications, ask whether they will handle the application, and be wary of anyone who offers to "just take it down quietly". A good arborist will slow you down at exactly the right moment. Trees are patient, long-lived things, and a little paperwork is a small price for keeping them that way.