Tree Surveys
& TPO Applications

Tree planning law explained

Understanding Tree
Protection Law

Tree Preservation Orders

A Tree Preservation Order (TPO) is a legal protection made by a local planning authority under the Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) (England) Regulations 2012. It protects individual trees, groups of trees, or woodland by making it a criminal offence to carry out work on a protected tree without the written consent of the relevant authority. Conviction can result in an unlimited fine.

TPOs can be placed on any tree that the authority considers it expedient to protect in the interests of amenity. Trees of any size can be protected — there is no minimum size requirement. Before carrying out any work on a tree, you should check whether it has a TPO. Clearcut Tree Surgery checks TPO status at every site visit as standard.

Conservation Area trees

Trees within designated Conservation Areas have automatic protection under Section 211 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, even without a specific TPO. Any tree in a Conservation Area with a trunk diameter exceeding 75mm at 1.5 metres above ground level requires six weeks written notification to the relevant local authority before any work — including felling, crown reduction, or pruning — can be carried out.

This six-week notification period allows the authority to consider whether the tree warrants a TPO. Once the six weeks have passed without a TPO being made, the work can proceed — provided nothing changes in the meantime. Clearcut Tree Surgery submits all Conservation Area notifications on your behalf and manages the timing.

BS5837 Tree Surveys for Development

If you are applying for planning permission for development on or near a site with existing trees, most local planning authorities will require a BS5837 tree survey (Trees in Relation to Design, Demolition and Construction) as part of the application. This survey categorises trees by quality grade (A — high, B — moderate, C — low, U — remove) and calculates the Root Protection Area (RPA) for each tree to inform the development layout and ensure trees intended for retention can be protected during construction.

Submitting a planning application without the required tree survey, or with a survey that doesn't meet BS5837 requirements, will typically result in the application being made invalid. We produce BS5837 surveys across Dorset and Hampshire to the standard required by all local planning authorities in the region.

Emergency works on protected trees

A limited emergency exception exists for protected trees. Under Regulation 14 of the Tree Preservation Regulations, emergency works to remove an immediate risk to persons or property can be carried out without prior consent, but only to the extent necessary to remove the immediate danger — and the authority must be notified as soon as practicable. The bar for using this exception is high: a general concern about a tree's condition is not sufficient; there must be an immediate danger. If you have a potentially dangerous tree, call us on 01202 022560 — we will assess the degree of risk and advise on the correct course of action.