Is my tree protected?
A tree is protected if it has a Tree Preservation Order (TPO), stands in a conservation area, or is covered by a planning condition. Your council can tell you, and most publish a TPO map or register online. Conservation areas include parts of Worcester, Great Malvern, Pershore and Bewdley, among many others, so check your council's conservation area map.
TPO trees: apply for consent
For a TPO tree you must apply to the council and wait for consent before felling, pruning, uprooting or damaging it. Councils should decide within eight weeks; if they don't, you can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. Describe the work exactly. "Crown reduce by 2m to suitable growth points" is better than "prune". Cutting down, topping, lopping, uprooting or wilfully damaging a protected tree without consent is a criminal offence, and you can be required to plant a replacement.
Some work is exempt. Removing dead branches from a living tree needs no consent. A dead tree can be removed after giving the council five working days' written notice. Urgent work on a tree that poses an immediate risk of serious harm can go ahead, with written notice as soon as practicable afterwards. Pruning fruit trees in line with good horticultural practice is also exempt. Diseased or dying trees are not exempt.
Conservation areas: give six weeks' notice
For trees in a conservation area with a trunk over 75mm across, measured 1.5m above the ground, you must give the council six weeks' written notice before most work. The council can then decide whether to protect the tree with a TPO. If it hasn't made one after six weeks, you can go ahead, but only within two years of the notice. Doing the work without notice carries the same penalties as breaching a TPO.
Which council in Worcestershire?
Worcestershire has six district councils, and each handles protected trees in its own area:
- Worcester City Council: Worcester, including St John's, Warndon and Claines
- Wychavon District Council: Evesham, Pershore, Droitwich Spa (protected trees page)
- Malvern Hills District Council: Malvern, Upton upon Severn, Tenbury Wells
- Wyre Forest District Council: Kidderminster, Stourport-on-Severn, Bewdley
- Bromsgrove District Council: Bromsgrove
- Redditch Borough Council: Redditch
Getting a tree surgeon to apply for you
Applications can be made through the Planning Portal or on your council's form, with a map showing the tree, photos, and the exact work and reasons. The owner can apply, or someone acting for them. Many tree surgeons will make the application for you, so ask whether they do and whether they charge for it. If consent is refused, you can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate within 28 days.
Sources: GOV.UK guidance on Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas.