How to get what you want in a conservation area

[Dan Maynard]

Section 211 notices

What is a section 211 notice?

A section 211 notice is a notice submitted to the local planning authority by landowners or their agents. It notifies the authority of proposed work on trees in a conservation area that are not subject to a Tree Preservation Order. ‘Protecting trees in conservation areas’ gives guidance on the circumstances where a section 211 notice may be required.

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What form should a section 211 notice take?

A section 211 notice does not have to be in any particular form. It may be helpful to use the standard application form for work to trees protected by an Order (available from the Planning Portal) as a section 211 notice, but the authority cannot insist on this.

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What information should be in a section 211 notice?

A section 211 notice must describe the work proposed and include sufficient particulars to identify the tree or trees. Where a number of trees or operations are involved, it should make clear what work is proposed to which tree. A notice must include the date it is submitted. A plan is not mandatory but can be helpful.

Sufficient information in a section 211 notice will help the local authority to verify that the proposed work, if undertaken, has not been exceeded and support enforcement action if appropriate. People should not submit a section 211 notice until they are in a position to present clear proposals. They should consider first discussing their ideas with an arboriculturist or the authority’s tree officer.

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What about section 211 notices for more than one operation?

Only one section 211 notice is needed to carry out a number of different operations on the same tree or to carry out work on a number of trees.

To avoid the need for repeated notices over a relatively short period of time, one notice may, where appropriate, be submitted for repeated operations, phased works or programmes of work.

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What should the local authority do with a vague or ambiguous section 211 notice?

The authority is advised to refer a section 211 notice containing insufficient or unclear information back to the person who submitted it. The authority may wish to provide information to help them resubmit an appropriate notice.

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Should the local authority acknowledge receipt of a section 211 notice?

A section 211 notice should be acknowledged, although the authority should first consider whether the proposed work is exempt from the requirement to give this notice or requires a felling licence. In either case it should promptly inform the person who gave the notice. Otherwise the authority should acknowledge receipt of the notice in writing.

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[AHPP]

Cheers. Got it now.