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HI - 2 QUESTIONS about street trees poorly maintained by contractors on behalf of a local authourity . NB I am aware that - since 11/23 S115 Environmental Act 2021 English LA's were under a statutory duty - where no exemptions apply - not to fell street trees without any public consultation BUT are there any means to make the LA responsible and/or require public consultation for works to the trees that go short of felling - e.g. by other means? In particular : Q. In English LA Conservation areas ? are street trees protected? What is the legal positon vis a vis street trees and any works to them ? Q. Can street trees be made subject to TPOs? Thanks

A provisional TPO was placed on our hybrid poplar in Nov 2020 In Jan 2021 the planning committee confirmed the TPO We, the owners, have never been informed - where do we stand on appeal? Any advice?

I had a full yew tree with TPO which was dying due to ivy suffocating it. I wrote to the council to fell it and they agreed to cutting it to 1m to allow it possibly to regrow. After a year, there is nothing happening to the tree and I contacted the council and they agreed that the tree is dead and I can cut it down but they want me to replace it with another yew tree in the same area. 1. Isn’t the TPO relevant to that particular tree? 2. So if the tree dies, doesn’t it mean the TPO dies with it? 3. Does anyone know what the law says about this? 4. If I have to by law to replace it, do I have to locate it in that same place, can I put it somewhere else in my garden? here is council’s response Clearly, the yew tree is dead and can be removed. Under the provisions of the TPO a replacement yew tree is required to be planted adjacent to the position of the original tree. The size of the replacement I advise should be not less than 1m in height. thanks all

Something a bit different! I've been to a clients this morning to look at a Lime tree that lies on the border of the property. The client wants to fence around the tree but the post will be directly in the roots of the tree within centimetres of the stem. Has anyone come across a fencing system that will allow the fence to go around the tree without digging posts in?

I’ve got 2 questions, hopefully you guys can help me. The first is a legal question regarding TPOs and liability and the second is about ground heave risks. 1. I’m buying a property in South East England in a rural village that’s a conservation area. It’s an end terrace built in the mid 90s, and my conveyancer found a TPO on 2 horse chestnut trees in the back garden. Here’s the snag, the trees are gone, only stumps remain. I found planning permission for 2 crown lifts in the early 2000s, one for 3 meters and one for 6. I also found and old estate agent advert for the house from 2014, when the current owners would have bought it, and the trees are gone. But on Google Streetview the trees are still there, and the date is marked 2009. so sometime between 2009 and 2014 the trees have been illegally cut down, and there’s no hiding it as the property is on a hill visible from the road, and they were the only trees. I don’t think I’ll be liable for the removal of the trees, but I may be liable to replace them. So my question is, without grassing on the current owner, should I consider indemnity insurance (if applicable), I don’t mind replanting saplings but if the council want the old stumps removed and new trees of a certain size planted I’d rather not have to pay for that, and instead come to an agreement with the current owner or something. 2. These trees were massive, taller than the 2 storey house. I’m rubbish with guessing measurements but the stumps looked about 3-4ft wide. One of them was very close to the house, touching the patio area, the other was a bit further down the garden. The garden itself is a bit odd, a large patio area followed by a a turfed area that’s mostly steep hill, the house itself is on the hill, but the parking area and the rest of the garden are at the bottom of the hill, about 7ft below. The trees were at the top of the hill. My survey didn’t find any evidence of subsidence or ground heave, but that’s not to say it won’t happen in the future. So I’m wondering how to proceed, we first made our offer in August, it’s now December and exchange is looming, so I’d really rather not pull out at this stage unless I had to. Could this be solved by a bit of indemnity insurance? Or do you think I should pay for a tree survey? But even then I don’t think the survey could predict future problems, only state they were possible which leaves me where I started.

I have a 300 year old oak tree at the bottom of our garden, which is in excellent health. Our neighbour's insurers have applied to have the tree felled, as they have had a report suggesting that the tree has caused the subsidence, as it has dried out the clay soil. A significant number of local residents objected to the application and the local Council have now issued a preliminary TPO and we are now in the 28 day period where further submissions can be made to the Council, before they decide whether to confirm the TPO. The Council tree officer has valued the tree and will have to convince councillors that the tree is of sufficient value for them to confirm the TPO and risk having to contribute to the costs of alternative solutions. The tree officer fully expects the insurers to object to the TPO. This is all new to me, so can anyone help me with the following questions - 1. HEAVE. The neighbour lives in a semi detached house and the occupants of the other half of the house faced the same issue of cracks when they moved in in 2011. Their insurers ended up concluding that the risk of heave (the oldest houses around the tree were built around 1900, so well after the tree was here) meant that they had to find an alternative to felling the tree. They ended up putting in a 2.5m deep root barrier, which appears to have largely dealt with the subsidence problem. There are 4 1900 era houses close to the tree and the one making the claim is the only one having subsidence issues. None of the houses had any foundations when they were built, but many of the houses, including ours, have had extensions since, which have included some proper foundations. The house making the claim has never had an extension and therefore still does not have any foundations. My question is the Council do not seem to be worried about the risk of heave and the insurer’s report simply says “Heave is not a concern”. Indeed the Council say any submissions we make during the consultation period should address the amenity value of the tree and that there is no point in talking about heave. How can this be right when all of use are concerned about the risk of heave? 2. MEASUREMENT OF MOVEMENT. The monitoring report shows that the largest movement in cracks was 8m, measured between February and August 2020. Is measuring just between a very wet February and a very dry August considered best practice? 3. DRAINAGE INVESTIGATION. The drainage investigation performed seems to have identified some damage to pipework that needs to be repaired. However, the acoustic test to the water main suggested that there weren’t all leaks to that. How is it possible to establish whether any of the leaks involved might be encouraged the root growth from the oak and thereby contributing significantly to the problem? Many thanks in anticipation! Mark

Hectare of semi mature tpo broadleaf woodland was extensively ecoplugged on Friday evening by persons unknown. FC, planning, police; all aware. Is it worth removing the thousand or so plugs this late in the day? I'm unsure how rapidly the glyphosate disperses.

Hi All, I could use some advice from experienced arborists. Please excuse my lack of knowledge on verge of ignorance, but it's all new to me and not even close to my profession. I live in Bedfordshire, soil type in my area is chalk/Soilscape 5: Freely draining lime-rich loamy soils - loamy (depending on maps used). Sycamore TPO tree is approx 50-60 ft tall, crown spreas between 39-45 ft, tree is located 9m from my front porch and 10m from main building. Building is 13 years old, timber frame end of terrace. I've noticed some damage to my drive (material tarmac, irregular bumps, no cracking) and property. Porch door and window frame crooked, cracks on brickwork coming down on both sides of windowsill (two of them further away from tree are 2-3mm, colser one is 1-1.5cm), 2 internal door frames crooked and some hairline cracks on plasterboard joins. Can this damage be caused by tree root system? Who I need to speak with to have it assessed? What is approximate cost of survey? What is deemed as safe distance for large sycamore tree from property boundary? Is there any official guidance (when submitting planning application) for tree distance by type from property boundaries? Can I build carport beneath TPO tree (in line with planning regs), or I need to get approval from Tree Officer as well? What would be the best route to have TPO removed and tree replaced with smaller less intrusive tree? Thank you for your understanding and patience. Just realized that this is probably in wrong place, can this be moved to homeowners or deleted?

Thought I'd share this as some might find it of interest. https://www.wycombe.gov.uk/News/2018-March/Tree-surgeons-fined-after-excessive-pruning-of-protected-copper-beech.aspx I don't want this to turn in to a bitch fest about the Arbs (they're mentioned in the article, have no idea if they are AT members or not) but a debate around how TPO's are monitored and enforced by councils and general pruning standards might get some good debate going.

Just wondering whether anyone's picked up on this - i did a search but found nothing here - looks like an injustice. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-39342491 http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/caravan-park-firm-fined-3k-891797 Premier Tree Care Conservation Ltd?! A bit of a contrast to the one in Mr Bullman's thread.

Hello We have gained planning permission for a replacement dwelling with an attached garage. Part of the garage sits within the RPAs of a Lime Tree (T3 - please refer to the attachment) and a series of Beech trees (G7). Please note, trees T1, T2 and T3 are subject to TPOs. Whilst the encroachment has been deemed acceptable by the Council’s Arboriculturist, we are seeking advice on where to navigate the surface water off the main house and garage. Obviously we would want the development to cause as little harm as possible to the Lime Trees, however, it seems as though we have no choice but to place the soakaway(s) within the RPAs of the Lime Trees. The question is then, is it generally acceptable to build soakaways within the RPAs of the Lime Trees? And if the answer is yes, does anyone have any suggestions as to where to place the soakaways for the front of the development? Many thanks Soakaway.pdf

Does anyone know if you are legally allowed to climb a tree with a TPO? Do I need to fill out an application to 'carry out works' on the tree with the LPA? I have no intention to carry out any work on the tree it is solely to climb it and check the fissures etc. for any bats that may be present (I have a bat licence and relevant climbing tickets). I understand that wilful damage to a tree with TPO is illegal but does this therefore include climbing of the tree? Many thanks in advance

Hello All, I have a customer that has a rather large oak tree in the rear garden near the house / conservatory. They would like to have a reduction made on the tree to gain some light but also make the tree healthy again. By the looks of the tree it hasn't had any decent work on it for a while and there is deadwood and suckers which are not needed. The house has a big area for van and chipper and good side access. The tree is right by a fence line with the neighbours, however a good amount of area to drop rubbish in the owners garden. There are in Stevenage, Herts and i think the tree is under a TPO - although at present time I've not checked. Anyone out there up for this job? I have been asked to find a decent contractor to complete job. Help is needed as they are asking bout when it will be done not if! Thanks Rob

Dear all, This may be a random post and not really much to do with trees but I know there are many people on here that are "in the know" about this subject. Here goes, for the past 2 years or so, many local people including my family and myself have been desperately trying to save a small play area at the bottom of our road. The town council surprise surprise want to sell it for land to build houses on. We agree that not many people use this park but wanted to campaign to turn the land into a different type of public space rather than lose it to some rich out of town property developer. Cutting a very long story short. The council have ignored our petitions and decided to sell up. But recently we have discovered that the land is covered in the conservation area. This is something I do not know much about apart from a quick read on wikipedia last night. There are 2 Cherry trees on site and I am wondering what is the score with these trees? will they be automatically protected by preservation orders or not? And can the council just go ahead and sell up to a private developer? The land is within the conservation area. Any advice, tips etc would be highly appreciated as we feel we are fighting a losing battle but we will not give up until the end. This small area of land would make a cracking "village square" maybe with some seating, bins, new trees and maybe a small monument of some kind? rather than it going to a very very greedy man who seems to be buying as much of the town as possible for new housing. If anyone would like to see extra details, maps etc then please let me know. I am just desperate for any info you people out there can give me. Thank you for reading, I hope someone out there is more in the know than me. Lee :0

Hi I'm wanting to build a garage in my front garden, after I was somewhat conned by the builders, but that's a long story. There is a large oak tree on the edge of my front boundary to a main road and large grassed area that has a RPA within in it, drawn as a circle. I wanted to erect a garage about 12m from the tree, near the house, for which it seems I need planning permission due to being in front of the forward elevation of the house.... GRRRRRRR. As such I will also come under the beady eye of the tree lady, who will no doubt argue the roots won't like it. I actually love the tree and without question want to protect it. If one altered the shape of the RPA it would spread under the driveway, which is shallow construct, just gravel and porous paving. The tree is quite large, about 1m at 1.5m above the ground. Does anyone have any ideas that might improve my chances. Out of interest, I also have a fir tree at the back, which is also protected!!!! where a garage could go, but I was hoping to leave all trees in tact, even if I could get the protection order on the fir lifted...is that likely? Thank you for any help.

Hello, I have previously posted regarding a TPO which my council are attempting to impose on a copper beech in my garden. The TPO is nothing to do with the tree. It's purpose is to prevent a planning application for a property on the land. The TPO notice was served on 10th February of this year and stated that I could raise any objections within 28 days which I did. The letter went on to say "after which time we will decide whether to make the order permanent" I heard nothing from them until the other day (26th August). "In February of this year the council served the above Tree Preservation order,however due to time constraints this lapsed on 10th August and it has become necessary for the order to be served again." The letter quoted the same reference number as the original order. I was not advised of the six month window, and was wondering if I am now legally free to remove the tree due to the councils delay in making the TPO permanent. Any help would be greatly appreicated

Hi thanks for reading this. I'd really appreciate anyone's views. Say I recently bought a site of about an acre, edge of town, long and thin with a mixture of semi mature broadleaf trees around the boundary (which I'm fine about keeping) and a strip of sycamore, ash, willow and others down the middle (about 20 tons) which I want to clear now for future development as a storage yard a couple of years down the line. No TPOs on the site at all and not in a conservation area. Q1- I'm wondering whether to contact the Tree Officer, tell them my plans and keep them onside - but I'm concerned that if they are over keen they might protect the lot. I looked at the Govt guidance on applying TPOs and the trees I'm wanting to fell are not really visible from a public place (although the site has been used by dog walkers occasionally - I'm about to fence the boundary) and I am keeping the boundary trees intact. I wondered how much the TOs go beyond the guidance and how easy it is to appeal a TPO decision if I am slapped with one? Q2- What happens when you apply for an FC felling licence? Does it sound the alarm at the Local Authority or anwhere else? adverts in the the local paper? Notice on site? And under what grounds might the FC refuse? there is possibly enough space if they required replanting but I'm not certain. If I started felling I think the adjoining residents would be on the phone to the Local Authority within minutes so I want to plan in advance. If any of the trees I want to fell were of significance or beauty I'd want to keep them but they are nothing amazing, all under 40 years old and a bit scrappy. I had contractor look a the site, very professional, liked him a lot, he explained the options and he's leaving the decision on contacting the TO in my hands, and he recommends obtaining a felling licence if he did the work. Many thanks in anticipation of your views

Tree officer from the council has given me a verbal assurance they will give the OK to fell a tree in clients TPO'd woodland - in fact they recommend that, but the client only wants a reduction / re-shaping. The tree is not dangerous, just a bit manky and in the wrong place. I intend to only do the reduction that the Client wants. On the TPO application is it best to apply for the work I intend to do, or to apply for felling, so that if client changes their mind in the next 2 yrs we can take it out without more paper work. In other words, do you have to do the work as specified on the application, or can you do less?

We bought our woodland knowing that a small section had a tree preservation order on it, "about 3/4 acre has a TPO" they said. Next, when we requested to build an agricultural barn under permitted development we noticed the TPO from the council didn't correspond with our own map.... they said our neighbouring woodland was TPO. So we asked our TPO officer to confirm..... The Result: No TPO on our woodland! great!! Conclusion: Don't assume anything; even after paying money for professional? searches

I have read recently that 'the government's own advice is that a TPO should not be placed on a tree that is not visible in its entirety from a public space' and 'in general trees that are in rear gardens should not be protected.' Can anyone confirm or deny this for me please?

Hi, Just a quick one. I put in an application to fell a tree in a conservation area. The 'application was refused' but no TPO put on it. Can I still go ahead with felling as I understood that the only way to refuse the works is to put a TPO on a tree

Hi. I'm hoping that some of the folks who use and read these boards can provide a layman with some technical advice! My elderly parents live on a smallholding, which has many hedgerows with various species of tree. They have cut down about 10 trees over a a period of 30 years, and apart from some essential works now due have no intention of cutting down any more. Between one of their boundaries and the next door farm is a lane/public footpath. The next door farmer asked an employee to do some hedgerow maintenance, so we understand, who instead managed to cut down several metres of hedgerow trees in a fairly brutal fashion. The farmer was fairly horrified, and more importantly so was a neighbouring ex-council official who contacted the LA. This week the farmer received a notice of the imposition of provisional TPO, which has incorporated a section of my parents' property in its area of coverage. I am very angry that they have been caught up in a situation that is not their fault, and the LA has managed to 'protect' trees that are already felled and trees that were not under threat in the first place. My parents do not need the hassle of having to apply for planning to trim their hedge. I have looked into the technicalities of this and have some questions that people here may be able to answer. As yet my parents have not been served notice, and I believe that the TO responsible for the listing has failed to ascertain their ownership of one side of the area now covered by the provisional TPO. Under the guidelines laid out in the 'Blue Book' (as I believe it is known in your circles) sections 3.25 - 3.27 seem to suggest that notice should be served either in person or by recorded/registered delivery. The farm where the felling has taken place has (as mentioned previously) received their notice a few days ago, as yet my parents have had nothing. Two notices have been tied to the beginning and end section of the hedge that is covered by the TPO, but only on my parents' section of hedge. As I see it the LA have failed to follow the Blue Book guidelines in that it is very obvious they have a large bungalow just the other side of the affected hedge. So my questions are as follows:- 1). I believe a key piece of case law in the serving of provisional TPOs is that of Knowles v Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions and Chorley BC [1998] . Can anyone supply me with a copy of this, as it seems impossible to find a copy on the internet? 2). Are there other relevant cases (of whatever outcome) that relate to the serving of TPOs that you are aware of? 2). I'm guessing that even if we are able to successfully halt the LA in their tracks by pointing out nearer the deadline that they have failed to serve notice on an affected party, they have the option of cancelling the TPO and issuing a new one. Can anyone advise the best approach in negotiating this matter with the LA to pre-empt such tactics and get this resolved in a reasonably amicable manner. I believe there are TOs who read these pages, and please be assured I am not trying to have a row with the LA, just spare my parents (dad is now well into his 80s) aggro they just can't cope with anymore. I believe that (from a lay point of view) it could be said that the TPO is not expedient inasmuch as the LA has no reason to believe the trees on my parents' land are under threat, but is there an optimum way of arguing this point? Any help people can give will be really appreciated! Thanks, Rob.

HI ALL, I'm interested to know if there is a data base of sorts or a map showing where trees with TPO's are located. or is there another way to find out ? (without felling it pruning etc to then find out the hard way) the reason i ask is a friend wants to find out if their Tree is a TPO tree but i can't find out as the tree officer is away. The tree is a snake barked maple and is probably a self set and only about 20-25 years old maximum. also it is in the back garden of his house and a neighbours, but the neighbour insists it his my friends not his, he has looked on the survey taken of his house and there is no mention of the tree or any TPOs. He comes under City of Lincoln Council Thanks

We are holding an event for Arboriculturalists and other interested parties on 21st February at Eland House in London. This free event is hosted by The Planning Portal in associate with the Arboricultural Association, Institute of Chartered Foresters, Consulting Arborists Society, Barrell Tree Consultancy and Department for Communities and Local Government. Key Speakers from DCLG, Planning Portal and Barrell Tree Care will give presentations on topical issues. To sign up to this free event please see the attached invitation with link to the registration process. http://http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Arbtalk12 I hope to see many of you there. Ashley Jones Planning Portal 07990 551807 TPO Arbtalk Invite Final in white.pdf

Any one know where I stand if I use a borer tool to take a core sample on a few trees that have a TPO on them so I can carry out a survey? Think I know the answer but I just wanted to get peoples opinions/views. Cheers