Tree Preservation Orders

The Town & Country Planning Act 1990 s.198-214 contains the primary legislation that offers statutory control for trees in England and Wales. The Act benefits from various guidance published around the subject of tree preservation orders, such as the document Tree Preservation Orders: A Guide to the Law and Good Practice.

Anyone working around the statutory controls of a Tree Preservation Order should be wary of trying to short cut the process or feign ignorance, which is not a defence in a court of law, where cases relate to infractions of Tree Preservation Orders.

How do you know if you have a Tree Preservation Order?

Some local planning authorities operate database systems with slick, user-friendly interfaces. An example is that operated in Surrey, by Surrey Heath council. You can access that Tree Preservation Order data set here. Otherwise, you are limited to contacting your local planning authority directly. Of course, we’ll happily do this for you!

Tree Preservation Orders have specific regulations that relate to the date the order was created, and since subsequent versions of these regulations change over time, it is crucial to know the date of a Tree Preservation Order, in order—excuse the pun—to know how to deal with it effectively.

For only £39 plus VAT, one of our Tree Consultants can take the hassle out of your hands and get to work defining your TPO and provide some preliminary advice about how to tackle the issue of making a Tree Preservation Order application.

Are there exemptions to Tree Preservation Orders?

There are three general exemptions to Tree Preservation Orders. Chief among these is detailed planning consent. Detailed planning consent where trees are concerned usually involves some form of tree survey BS5837 assessment. Second, is the exemption of Statutory Undertaking. This would be e.g. where a Utility Provider might need to prune or cut a tree in order to perform his or her statutory duties. Finally, works to tree with Tree Preservation Orders are often exempt on the basis that a tree is dead, dying or dangerous. In all but very few instances, this must be rigorously demonstrated in a tree condition survey report that will accompany your Tree Preservation Order application, and will be appraised by the council’s Tree Preservation Officer.

Tree Preservation Orders and your rights to compensation

In this day and age, it should come as no surprise to you that rights to compensation often apply to individual cases where Tree Preservation Orders apply. Any right to claim will be individual to your case and must be assessed by an expert in Tree Preservation Order legislation, such as one of our friendly tree surveyors.