Charnwood Borough Council

The Conservation and Landscape Team is available to give information and advice on protected trees, trees on development sites and high hedges.

Tree Preservation Orders (TPO)

The Council has specific powers to protect trees by making tree preservation orders. There are also special provisions which apply to trees within Conservation Areas in the Borough where they make a significant contribution to the visual amenity.

The use of TPOs enables the Council to protect trees, groups of trees and woodlands and therefore enhance the quality of the Borough’s environment. The aim of TPOs is to prevent unnecessary felling and pruning and to ensure that where felling is permitted, replacement trees are planted. There are currently more than 350 TPOs in Charnwood, protecting thousands of trees, and the number is growing every year. Priority for TPOs is generally given to trees that are considered to be under threat, for example, where development is proposed. In making a TPO the Council must show that a reasonable degree of public benefit would accrue and the trees to be protected should therefore normally be visible from a public place such as a road or footpath, although inclusion of other trees may be justified.

Trees may be worthy of protection for a number of reasons. They may have intrinsic value, they may contribute to a particular landscape or they may screen an eyesore or a development. A single tree may have a rarity or scarcity value or a group of trees or woodland may be important collectively. Other factors such as the importance of a site as a wildlife habitat may be taken into consideration which alone would not be sufficient to justify a TPO. Any trees, with certain exemptions, can be covered by a TPO but not hedges, bushes or shrubs. A TPO can cover anything from single trees to woodlands.

What does a TPO do?

A TPO prevents cutting down, uprooting, topping, lopping, wilful damage or destruction of trees (including the cutting of roots) without first obtaining the Council’s consent. There are some exceptions — for example for safety reasons if a tree is dead, dying or dangerous. It is an offence to work on a protected tree without such consent and if unauthorised work takes place, the Council can take legal action which may lead to fines of up to £20,000.

You can apply for consent using Form No 26 at downloadable forms.

How to get a Tree Protected

If you think that there are trees in need of protection then contact the Council and give details of the tree(s) and reasons why you think the tree(s) should be protected. The Council will then assess the amenity value and can make a TPO where appropriate.

Once a TPO has been made the Council will let the owner of the tree(s) know by writing to them and other interested parties such as neighbours, enclosing a copy of the order with the rules and regulations. The interested parties can make objections within 28 days to the making of an order or for the support of making an order. The Council will then take such comments into account when deciding whether to confirm the order. A TPO does not remove the usual responsibilities of a tree owner; it merely requires that permission is sought before any works are carried out.

Trees in Conservation Areas

The law requires that anyone planning to cut down or carry out work to a tree in a Conservation Area must give the Council 6 weeks notice of their intention to do so. The purpose of such notice is to give the Council the opportunity to consider whether a TPO should be made. The notice must describe the work proposed and include sufficient particulars to identify the tree/s. Tree owners should first consider discussing their ideas with an arboriculturalist or the Council’s Landscape Officer. It is an offence to work on a tree in a Conservation Area without first notifying the Council. Penalties are the same as for a breach of a TPO.

You do not need to notify, the Council if you want to cut down or work on a tree that has a trunk less than 7.5cm in diameter (measured 1.5m above ground) or 10cm if you are thinning to help the growth of other trees. There is also no need to follow the notification procedure where a tree is dead, dying or dangerous, although you should let the Council know in advance if you are taking down a tree in these circumstances.

If a tree is protected by a TPO, or is situated in a Conservation Area, in most cases, owners must obtain written consent from the Council before work is carried out on their trees. The carrying out of work without consent is an offence.

You can apply for consent using Form No 26 at downloadable forms.

Trees covered by Planning Condition

When planning permission is granted on land containing trees, it is usual for a condition to be imposed to safeguard the trees. The existence of a TPO will not necessarily prevent development but the Council will consider the risk to protected trees when deciding planning applications. Once a detailed planning permission has been granted, any felling may be carried out which is directly required to enable the development to go ahead.

Hedgerow Protection

Under the Hedgerows Regulations 1997 it is unlawful to remove or destroy certain hedgerows without permission from the Borough Council. Permission is required before removing hedges that are 20 metres or more in length (less if connected to other hedges), over 30 years old and either of historic or wildlife value as defined under the Regulations. Proper management of hedges does not require permission and residential hedges are not covered by these Regulations.

High Hedge Control

Recent legislation, under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, has given the Council the power to deal with complaints relating to high hedges which are evergreen or semi-evergreen and more than 2m in height. Where a complainant has tried and exhausted all other avenues for resolving a dispute, a high hedge complaint may be taken to the Council. The role of the Council is not to mediate or negotiate between the complainant and the hedge owner but to adjudicate on whether "the hedge is adversely affecting the complainant’s reasonable enjoyment of their property."

• High Hedges complaints

• Conservation and Landscape Home Page - officers, addresses, phone nos and email.