Trees and the law

There are extensive laws which control the status and protection of trees and woodlands to ensure their longevity and care. Most of these are statutory and dealt with by your Local Authority or the Forestry Commission. Barnes & Associates are well informed with all regulations relating to the protection of trees, and can inform and guide all our clients down the necessary paths to avoid costly mistakes.

We have recently undergone additional training in court room and report writing skills in this sepcialist area.

For your general information;

A Tree Preservation Order (TPO) is an order made by a Local Planning Authority (LPA) to protect trees. The Order makes it an offence to cut down, uproot, prune, damage or destroy the tree or trees covered by the TPO. It can apply to a single tree, a group or area of trees or woodland, but does not apply to bushes, shrubs or hedges (unless the hedge has developed into a line of individual trees). The existence of a Tree Preservation Order does not necessarily mean that you can’t eventually prune or fell the trees, it simply means that you must obtain permission from your Local Planning Authority (LPA).

Many trees are protected, so it is essential that you obtain the relevant advice from your Local planning authority LPA before altering any tree, however small or insignificant you may think it is.

TPO Appeals;

Barnes & Associates can provide expert help in this area.