How to Check for Tree Preservation Orders on Your Property

Before you fell, prune, or even significantly trim a tree in your garden, you should check whether it's protected by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO). Carrying out work on a protected tree without consent is a criminal offence and can result in fines of up to £20,000 in a magistrates' court — or unlimited fines in the Crown Court.

Here's how to check.

Method 1: Use our free planning constraints tool

The Planning Constraints Map shows Tree Preservation Orders from planning.data.gov.uk.

1. Open the Planning Constraints Map
2. Search for your address or postcode
3. Check the results panel for TPO entries
4. TPO areas are shown on the map

The tool searches official data published by local planning authorities to the national dataset. It covers individual tree TPOs, group TPOs, area TPOs, and woodland TPOs.

Method 2: Contact your council's tree officer

Every local planning authority has a tree officer (sometimes called an arboricultural officer). You can phone or email them to ask whether any TPOs apply to trees on or near your property.

This is the most reliable method for confirming specific trees, because the council holds the definitive records. They can also advise on what works might be acceptable and how to apply for consent.

Search for "[your council name] tree preservation order" to find contact details and any online registers or maps the council maintains.

Method 3: Check during conveyancing

The Local Authority Search (CON29) carried out during property purchase will reveal any Tree Preservation Orders affecting the property. If you're buying a house with significant trees, this will be flagged by your solicitor.

What is a Tree Preservation Order?

A TPO is a legal order made by the local planning authority to protect specific trees, groups of trees, or areas of woodland. Councils make TPOs when they consider that a tree makes a significant contribution to the local environment and is at risk of being removed or damaged.

There are four types:

• Individual — protects a specific tree
• Group — protects a group of trees as a collective feature (individual trees within the group cannot be removed even if some are less significant)
• Area — protects all trees within a defined area
• Woodland — protects all trees in a woodland, including any that grow in the future

What can't you do to a protected tree?

Without the council's written consent, you cannot:

• Cut down or uproot the tree
• Top or lop the tree (reduce its height or spread)
• Wilfully damage or destroy the tree
• Allow any of the above to happen through neglect

This applies regardless of whether the tree is on your land. You need consent even to prune branches that overhang from a neighbour's property if the tree has a TPO.

How to get permission for tree work

If you need to carry out work on a protected tree, you must apply to the council for consent. The application is free and typically takes up to eight weeks to determine.

In your application, you should explain:

• What work you want to do (be specific — "reduce crown by 2 metres" rather than "trim tree")
• Why the work is needed (safety concerns, damage to structures, disease, daylight)
• What the impact on the tree's appearance and health will be

The council may grant consent with conditions (such as replanting), grant consent in full, or refuse. If they refuse, you have a right of appeal.

Exceptions

You don't need consent for:

• Removing dead wood from a living tree
• Cutting down a tree that is dead, dying, or dangerous (but you should give the council five days' notice if possible, and you may need to prove the tree was dead/dangerous if challenged)
• Work required to comply with a statutory obligation (e.g., preventing obstruction of a highway)

Trees in conservation areas

Even if a tree doesn't have a TPO, it may still be protected if it's in a conservation area. All trees in conservation areas with a trunk diameter of 75 mm or more (measured at 1.5 m above ground level) are automatically protected. You must give the council six weeks' notice before doing any work.

The Planning Constraints Map shows both TPOs and conservation area boundaries, so you can check for both protections in a single search.

Summary

Three ways to check for Tree Preservation Orders:

1. Quickest — Use the Planning Constraints Map for instant results from national data
2. Most reliable for specific trees — Contact your council's tree officer
3. During purchase — The Local Authority Search identifies TPOs

If a tree is protected, you need the council's written consent before doing any work. The application is free, and the process is straightforward — but the fines for non-compliance are severe.