Chapter 9
Trees in Conservation Areas
They will come again, the leaf and the flower, to arise
From squalor of rottenness into the old splendour,
And magical scents to a wondering memory bring;
The same glory, to shine upon different eyes.
Earth cares for her own ruins, naught for ours.
Nothing is certain, only the certain spring.
Laurence Binyon, from The Burning of the Leaves
Conservation Areas
9.1 The law relating to conservation areas is in Part II of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. Conservation areas are areas of special architectural or historical interest the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance. They are designated by LPAs and are often, though not always, centred around listed buildings. Other buildings and landscape features, including trees, may also contribute to the special character of a conservation area.
Trees in Conservation Areas: Section 211 Notices
9.2 Trees in conservation areas which are already protected by a TPO are subject to the normal TPO controls. But the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 also makes special provision for trees in conservation areas which are not the subject of a TPO. Under section 211 anyone proposing to cut down or carry out work on a tree in a conservation area is required to give the LPA six weeks' prior notice (a 'section 211 notice'). The purpose of this requirement is to give the LPA an opportunity to consider whether a TPO should be made in respect of the tree.
Exemptions
9.3 Exemptions from the requirement to give a section 211 notice are set out in the 1999 Regulations.109 You do not have to give the LPA six weeks' notice:
(1) for cutting down trees in accordance with a felling licence granted by the Forestry Commission or a plan of operations approved by the Commission under one of their grant schemes,
(2) for work which is exempt from the requirement to apply for consent under a TPO (for more details see Chapter 6 of this Guide),110
(3) for work carried out by, or on behalf of, the LPA (ie the Council as a whole and not just its planning department),
(4) for work on a tree with a diameter not exceeding 75 millimetres (or 100 millimetres if cutting down trees to improve the growth of other trees, ie thinning operations).111
No mention of replanting or any privation for the LA to insist on any replacement.