Do I Need Permission to Cut Down a Tree? (TPOs Explained)

Written By Wez - 04/08/2026

What is a TPO?

A Tree Preservation Order is a legal order made by the local planning authority protecting a specific tree, group of trees, or woodland because of its amenity value, broadly, its contribution to the look and character of the area. A TPO makes it an offence to cut down, top, lop, uproot, or wilfully damage the protected tree without the council’s written consent.

TPOs aren’t reserved for famous oaks. Councils protect street-visible garden trees, trees on development sites, and whole groups, and orders stay attached to the land through every change of ownership. Plenty of homeowners inherit a TPO without knowing it, which is exactly the trap.

What about conservation areas?

In a conservation area, almost all trees above a minimal size get automatic interim protection: you must give the council six weeks’ written notice (a “section 211 notice”) before doing works to any tree with a trunk diameter over 75mm measured at 1.5m height. The council uses those six weeks to decide whether to let the work proceed or to slap a TPO on the tree. You don’t need consent as such, but you absolutely need to have notified and waited.

Around here that matters constantly: central Cheltenham, much of Stroud and the valley villages, Tewkesbury’s core, Winchcombe, Cirencester, Painswick, and most Cotswold villages are conservation areas. If your house is old and pretty, assume notice is needed until checked.

The penalties are real

Destroying or carrying out unauthorised work on a protected tree is a criminal offence. Magistrates can fine up to £20,000 per tree for destruction, with unlimited fines possible in the Crown Court for serious cases, and courts can take the financial benefit (say, an improved view or a buildable plot) into account. Councils prosecute, neighbours report, and “the tree surgeon said it was fine” is not a defence, the duty sits with whoever commissions and does the work. You’ll also usually be required to replant.

How to check if your tree is protected

Ask the council. Every planning authority keeps a TPO register, and most have an online map; a phone call or email to the tree officer with your address gets a definitive answer

Check your property paperwork. TPOs often appear in the local searches from when you bought the house

Let your tree surgeon check. Any reputable firm verifies protection before quoting. At Silver Tree Services it’s step one on every job across Gloucestershire, and we prepare and submit the applications and notices as part of the work

The exceptions
(narrower than people hope)

Consent generally isn’t needed for removing dead trees or for works urgently necessary on trees that present an immediate serious risk, but you must usually give the council five days’ notice for dead tree removal where practicable, keep evidence (photographs, a written report) for anything done on safety grounds, and expect a replanting duty. “It drops leaves on my drive”, “it shades the lawn”, and “it’s a bit big” are not exemptions, they’re applications. Dying-but-not-dead and diseased trees still need the paperwork.

How the application process works

For a TPO tree, you (or your contractor) apply to the council describing exactly what works are proposed and why, ideally with arboricultural justification. The council has eight weeks to decide and can approve, approve with conditions, or refuse, with a right of appeal. For conservation areas, the section 211 notice describes the works and the council has six weeks to respond. Either way: specific, well-justified applications written in arboricultural language succeed far more often than “want to remove tree”, which is one practical reason to let a professional handle it.

TPO tree: council consent required first, full stop
Conservation area: six weeks' written notice for any tree over 75mm trunk diameter
Neither: your tree, your call (nesting birds and bats are still protected)
Fines: up to £20,000 per tree, and ignorance is no defence
Easiest route: use a contractor who checks and handles the paperwork as standard

Silver Tree Services checks protection status on every quote across Gloucestershire and submits TPO applications and conservation-area notices as part of the job. Not sure about your tree? Get a free quote or call 01242 472560 and we’ll find out for you.

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