TPO & Conservation Area Tree Work
Work on protected trees, handled properly, we check the register, make the application to the council and carry out the consented work.
The short version
If your tree has a Tree Preservation Order, or stands in a conservation area, you need the council's permission before doing anything to it. Carrying out work without consent is a criminal offence, and the fines are not nominal.
We check before we quote, make the application for you, and do not start until consent is in place.
How to find out if your tree is protected
Two separate things to check, and a tree can be caught by both:
- A Tree Preservation Order is made on a specific tree, group or woodland. Adur & Worthing Councils and Arun District Council each publish a TPO register you can search. If you are unsure, ask them, or ask us and we will check.
- A conservation area protects every tree within it above a size threshold, whether or not it has its own TPO. Worthing has several, including Ambrose Place, Steyne, Tarring Village and Broadwater; Adur and Arun have their own.
Buying a house does not reset any of this. The protection runs with the tree.
What consent involves
For a TPO tree, a formal application to the local planning authority describing the work and the reason for it. The council has eight weeks to decide. They can approve, approve with conditions, or refuse, and there is a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
In a conservation area, a Section 211 notice giving the council six weeks' written notice before work on any tree over 75mm diameter measured at 1.5m from the ground. During those six weeks the council can make a TPO to protect the tree properly. If they do nothing, you may proceed.
The exemptions, and their catch
Work to a tree that is dead, or that presents an immediate risk of serious harm, is exempt from the consent requirement. That sounds like a wide door and it is not:
- You still have to give the council notice, five days beforehand where practicable, or as soon as possible afterwards in a genuine emergency.
- The burden of proving the tree was dead or dangerous falls on you, after the fact.
- Photograph everything before anyone touches it. Wide shots, close-ups of the defect, from several angles. That evidence is the whole of your defence, and it cannot be produced afterwards.
"It looked a bit unsafe" is not the test. Get advice before cutting.
Insurance and subsidence work
Insurers frequently require tree work as part of a subsidence claim, and just as frequently the tree is protected, which puts the claim and the TPO in direct tension. That needs the arboricultural case put to the council properly, with the evidence attached.
We are used to this work: documented, photographed, and specified in terms a planning officer recognises.
What we do
- Check the TPO register and conservation area status before quoting
- Prepare and submit the application or the Section 211 notice
- Deal with the tree officer's questions
- Carry out the consented work exactly as specified, deviating from a consent is itself an offence
- Provide documentation for insurers where a claim is involved
How we quote
Free and on site, as usual. The application itself we handle as part of the job.
Common questions
How do I find out if my tree has a TPO?
Search the council's TPO register, Adur & Worthing and Arun each publish one, or ask the tree officer. We check as a matter of course before quoting on anything that looks like it might be protected.
How do I know if I'm in a conservation area?
The council's planning pages map them. Worthing has several including Ambrose Place, Steyne, Tarring Village and Broadwater. Every tree above 75mm diameter in one is protected, whether or not it has its own TPO.
How long does a TPO application take?
The council has eight weeks to decide a TPO application. Conservation-area work needs six weeks' written notice instead. Either way, start early if the work has a deadline.
Can I do anything without permission?
Work to a dead tree, or one presenting an immediate risk of serious harm, is exempt, but notice requirements still apply and the burden of proving it falls on you afterwards. Photograph the tree thoroughly before anyone touches it.
What's the penalty for unauthorised work?
It is a criminal offence. Fines for destroying a protected tree can be substantial, and there is a duty to replace the tree. It is not worth the risk when consent is usually straightforward to obtain.
Do you make the application for me?
Yes, as part of the job. We prepare the application or Section 211 notice, submit it, and deal with the tree officer's queries.
My protected tree is damaging my drains, does that override the TPO?
Not automatically. It is a material consideration the council must weigh, but it needs to be evidenced properly, which is exactly what a well-prepared application does. Cutting first and arguing later is the expensive route.