Trees are seen to be very important to both our physical health (oxygen) and to our mental health (try and imagine a world without Trees!!!!).

As such, some Trees can be protected from being felled and worked upon without good reason.

Such protection can be placed upon the Trees (any tree can be protected from a Conifer to an Oak) by the Local Planning Authority (LPA) and this protection falls into two catorgories, Tree Preservation Order (TPO) and Conservation Area.

A TPO can be placed on any single tree, it can also cover a number of trees within a garden, a single TPO can also cover a number of gardens.

A Conservation Area can cover a certain radius of an area, the LPA determines the area of coverage.

To protect trees within a Conservation Area the specimen must be over 75mm diameter at 1.3 metres from ground level (DBH).

If you were to plant a Tree within a Conervation Area and then fell it after it has passed these sizes you may be prosecuted by the LPA!

The fines for working on a Protected tree without correct permissions are quite high. £2,500 for a single cut and £20,000 for every tree felled.

Permissions can be obtained from the LPA, TPO protected permission can take up to 8 weeks to obtain.

Conservation Area permission can take up to 6 weeks to obtain. The LPA can also place a TPO on a Tree within a Conservation Area!

To prevent any of the above fines we will check with the LPA before working on your Trees, applications can also be submitted if required, it can now be common practise for the LPA to require a Tree Survey or Report to be submitted in conjuction with the Application (prices for these services provided upon request).