Do I Need Permission to Cut or Prune a Tree?
For most garden trees, no. But across Surrey and South West London it’s yes far more often than people expect, because so many streets sit in conservation areas and so many mature trees have Tree Preservation Orders. Getting it wrong is a criminal offence, for the owner as well as whoever does the work.
This guide covers the rules that catch people out, and how to check your own address before anyone picks up a saw.
The Quick Check
You’ll need to involve someone else before working on a tree if any of these apply:
- It has a Tree Preservation Order (TPO). You need the council’s consent first.
- It’s in a conservation area. You give the council six weeks’ written notice first.
- It’s covered by a planning condition, often the case on newer builds and extensions.
- It’s on or over the boundary. You can’t go onto your neighbour’s land without their agreement.
- Birds are nesting or bats are roosting in it. Wildlife law applies whatever the council says.
If none of those apply, it’s your tree and your decision. If you’re not sure, check first. It costs nothing and it’s the only thing that protects you if a neighbour or the council asks questions later.
Tree Preservation Orders
A TPO is a legal order the council makes to protect particular trees, groups of trees or woodland, usually because they matter to the look of the area. With a TPO in place you need the council’s consent before cutting down, pruning, uprooting or damaging the tree, and that includes root pruning, which catches people out when they’re planning an extension, a driveway or a new patio.
You apply to the council with a description of the work and the reasons for it. Councils normally aim to decide within eight weeks, and they can refuse, approve or approve with conditions. If you’re refused, there’s a right of appeal, and the council’s decision letter explains how.
The order stays with the tree, not the owner, so if you’re buying a house with a TPO tree, the same rules apply to you from the day you move in. Your solicitor’s searches should show it.
Conservation Areas
Trees in a conservation area are protected because of where they are. For any tree with a trunk more than 75mm across, measured 1.5 metres above the ground, you must give the council six weeks’ written notice before pruning or felling it. This is called a Section 211 notice.
In those six weeks the council can either let the work go ahead or, if they want to stop it, put a TPO on the tree. If you hear nothing by the end of the six weeks, you can go ahead. If you’re working to a deadline, get the notice in early, because the clock only starts when the council receives it.
Some boroughs are covered far more heavily than others. Richmond upon Thames, for example, has more conservation areas than any other London borough, so if you live there it’s safest to assume your tree is protected until you’ve checked.
Dead and Dangerous Trees
There are narrow exceptions for trees that are dead or genuinely dangerous, but they’re narrower than most people think, and the paperwork still matters.
- Dead trees and dead branches: you don’t need consent, but you must give the council at least five working days’ written notice before the work, unless it’s urgent. Take photos first, as it’s up to you to show the tree really was dead.
- Immediate danger: where a tree poses an immediate risk of serious harm, you can do the work needed to make it safe straight away, then tell the council in writing as soon as practicable. Only the work needed to remove the danger is covered, not a general tidy-up while you’re at it.
- Replacement planting: if a protected tree is removed under these exceptions, you’ll normally have to plant a replacement, unless the council agrees otherwise.
“Dying” or “getting too big” isn’t an exception. If a protected tree is declining but still alive, it needs the normal consent or notice.
Other Rules Worth Knowing
Planning conditions. If your house or extension was built in the last few years, the planning permission may include conditions protecting trees or requiring new planting. Those still apply, so check your planning documents before removing anything.
Neighbours and boundaries. You can cut back branches that overhang your garden, up to the boundary, without your neighbour’s permission. You can’t lean over or go onto their land, and you should offer them the cuttings back rather than putting anything over the fence. If the tree is protected, the council comes first, even for overhanging branches. If the trunk is on the boundary, it’s jointly owned and needs both of you to agree.
Nesting birds. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it’s an offence to damage or destroy an active nest. The main season runs roughly March to August, so we check before any work in season, and if we find an active nest we stop and come back.
Bats. All UK bat species and their roosts are legally protected. If a tree has cavities, splits or loose bark that could hold a roost, a survey may be needed before work starts. We’ll flag it if we see the signs.
Felling licences. Trees in private gardens are exempt. Outside gardens, felling more than 5 cubic metres of timber in a calendar quarter generally needs a Forestry Commission felling licence, but that rarely affects homeowners.
What Happens If You Don’t Ask First
Cutting down or wilfully damaging a protected tree without consent is a criminal offence, and the fines can be unlimited. Proceedings can be brought against the property owner as well as the contractor, and you’ll usually be required to plant a replacement as well.
Anyone who offers to “do it now and sort the paperwork later” is best avoided. A good tree surgeon checks protection before they quote.
How to Check Your Own Tree
- Your council’s website. Most councils have an online map showing conservation areas and TPOs. Search your council’s name with “tree preservation order map”.
- Your property searches. If you bought recently, the local land charges search should have flagged both.
- Ring the council’s tree team and ask. They’re usually happy to confirm.
- Or ask us. We check protected status as part of every quote, free.
How We Help
We check for TPOs, conservation areas and planning conditions before we quote, so you know where you stand from the start. If your tree needs a notice or an application, we write it and submit it for you, with the arboricultural reasoning the tree officer actually wants to see rather than a one-line request that gets refused or sat on. We do these regularly with Elmbridge, Richmond and Kingston councils.
Ring 07522 167 197 or send us a few photos on WhatsApp and we’ll tell you honestly what’s needed.
Permission for Tree Work: Common Questions
Do I need planning permission to cut down a tree in my garden?
Not usually. You only need the council involved if the tree has a TPO, is in a conservation area, or is covered by a planning condition. If the trunk sits on the boundary, you’ll also need your neighbour’s agreement.
How long does it take to get permission?
Six weeks for a conservation area notice, and councils normally aim to decide a TPO application within eight weeks. They can sometimes answer sooner, but you can’t make them, so start early if you have a deadline.
Can I remove a dead tree that has a TPO?
Dead trees are an exception to the usual consent, but you still need to give the council at least five working days’ written notice, unless it’s an urgent safety job. Keep photos as evidence, and expect to plant a replacement unless the council agrees otherwise.
Can I cut overhanging branches from a protected tree?
Not without the council. Your normal right to cut back to the boundary doesn’t override a TPO or conservation area, so the consent or notice is needed first, even for overhang.
Does a TPO stop me pruning the roots?
Yes. Root pruning needs consent just like pruning the branches, so if you’re planning an extension, a driveway or any digging near a protected tree, talk to the council or us first.
Will you handle the application for me?
Yes. It’s included when we quote. We check protection, write the notice or application, submit it, and keep you posted on the council’s response.