Town and Country Trees LimitedTrees and the Law
Duty
of Care
If you have any trees on your property, there are certain areas of the law which may apply to you. This information gives a brief outline of your responsibilities as a tree owner and aims to provide guidelines to the procedures required in order to maintain your trees and comply with the law.
All Owners of trees have a duty in law known as a duty of care to take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions that can be reasonably foreseen to prevent harm. This includes harm to neighbours, visitors or passers by.
In relation to trees this means that the householders/ landowner should check their trees for obvious safety problems regularly and have them professionally inspected from time to time.
Any defects required to make the trees safe should be dealt with quickly. In addition, it would be prudent to check trees after severe storms.
Applying
for Tree Preservation Order Consent
In general it is an offence under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 for anyone to undertake work to a tree that is included on a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) without the local authorities consent.
On 1st October 2008 the Town and Country (Trees)(Amendment)(England)Regulations 2008 came into force.
This means that the local authorities are now only able to accept applications on the new standard application form.
The application form can be downloaded and completed on your local authority website or the Planning Portal website.
It should be noted that it is not an offence to undertake work to a TPO tree that is dead, dying or has become dangerous.
However, the burden of proof that that a tree is exempt from the need for consent because of the condition of the tree(s) lies with the person carrying out the work. Anyone proposing to do work under this exemption is strongly advised to contact the relevant LA tree officer for advice before hand.
Trees
in Conservation Areas
All trees in Conservation Areas are protected if they have a stem diameter of 75 millimetres measured at 1.5 metres from ground level. In general, it is an offence under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 for anyone to undertake work to a tree in a conservation area without giving the Council six weeks written prior notice. The notice period is for the Council to decide if the tree(s) should be protected from proposed work by a TPO.
Giving notice of tree works
To give notice of work to tree(s) in a conservation area - download and complete the application for tree works on your local authority website or the Planning Portal website or write to the Tree Officer with the following information:
You must provide:
- - Details of the location of the trees to which the notice relates, by reference to a plan if necessary
- - Details of the tree work operations being proposed (The notice should clarify exactly what work is envisaged. Vague proposals to "prune" or "cut back" are not adequate. You are advised to present a clear proposal and should consider discussing ideas with an arboriculturalist before submitting a notice)
It is helpful if you also provide:
- - Reason for proposed work, with reference to supporting evidence if necessary
- - Details of ownership of the trees
It should be noted that it is not an offence to undertake work to a tree in a Conservation Area that is dead, dying or has become dangerous. However, the burden of proof that work is exempt from the need for prior notice because of the condition of the tree(s) lies with the person carrying out the work. Anyone proposing to do work under this exemption is strongly advised to contact the tree officer for advice before hand.
Tree Surgery is a skilled and dangerous job. It should be carried out by professional arborists. All works should comply with British Standard 3998/1989 Recommendations for Tree Work.