Trees can draw mixed reactions from people – most people agree they are attractive and are keen to live in an environment which contains trees and woodlands, but some are not so keen to have them close to their own houses. Whilst most developers realise that retaining suitable trees can add value to a site, others may sometimes see trees as an obstacle to their site plans.
Tree Preservation Orders
TPOs are legal orders intended to ensure important trees are preserved. Tree Preservation Orders are not intended to prevent any work ever being done to a tree. They are intended as a way to balance the sometimes conflicting desires of individuals with the benefits to the wider community.
Changes to the Tree Preservation Order Regulations - Effective 1st October 2008
On 1st October 2008, a number of amendments to the Tree Preservation Order (TPO) Regulations were implemented by Act of Parliament. The principal reasons for the changes are firstly, to standardise the application process and make it suitable for online submission; secondly, to streamline the process of appealing against a local planning authorities decision on applications.
One amendment requires that, from now on, all applications to carry out works to trees protected by a TPO have to be made on a standard government form.
This form, known as “Application for tree works” is available from the Planning Portal website www.planningportal.gov.uk or we will post a printed copy to you on request. The form may be completed online, submitted electronically or you can fill in the printed form by hand and post it to Breckland Council in the time honoured manner.
Please note that the form must be completed in its entirety.
A separate plan is now absolutely essential and must clearly identify the protected trees to be worked upon and their relation to adjacent roads, boundaries and buildings, as well as providing a clear indication of the wider locality and showing the direction of north. You may still submit hand drawn plans but you are strongly urged to use Ordnance Survey (OS) based plans. OS based maps can be purchased from the Council's Partner, Get Mapping. Please follow this link for more information: Ordnance Survey Plan Service. If you make an electronic application you will be given the opportunity to purchase an Ordnance Survey plan during this process. Plans that contain errors, such as incorrect location of trees, will not be validated. If such errors come to light during the site visit, your application may well be invalidated until such time that the correct information can be supplied.
The proposed works must be clearly specified: any crown volume or height reduction, thinning, branch shortening or crown lifting must be described quantitatively. Guidance on the specification of tree works can be found below or will be included in you postal package.
You must include properly explained reasons for the proposed works. Simple statements such as “in the interests of good arboricultural practice” or “amenity” or “for reasons of safety” will no longer be acceptable on their own. If the work is for safety reasons, then you should explain what the problems are and how you propose to resolve them. For example - ‘to remove a fractured branch which is over the house / road / parking area’. Another reason might be that the works are for increasing light to the garden or property. The only instance where works are “in the interests of good arboricultural practice” is one where removing parts of the tree will forestall the possibility of the tree causing itself even greater damage. For example: reduction of an obviously ‘over-extended’ limb to reduce the risk of catastrophic detachment.
Where requests are made to remove whole trees because it is claimed that they are diseased or defective, the application must be accompanied by appropriate supporting evidence. For simple and self-evident problems you may include this information in the ‘reasons’ as noted in the preceding paragraph. However, where larger trees or more technical issues are concerned, specialist arboricultural information such as a report from a competent person that identifies the problems and the proposed solutions will be required. In cases where structural damage to buildings is allegedly caused by trees, appropriate engineering, arboricultural and site assessment reports must be attached to the application at the time it is made.
If any information is missing or not provided in the required format, your application will not be registered as valid.
Another of the government’s principal reasons behind these changes is to introduce a new ‘fast track’ procedure for dealing with appeals against refusals of consent by the local planning authority to carry out requested works. This also includes appeals against tree replacement notices. The appeal decision will henceforth be made on the basis of material submitted with the application as originally made to the local planning authority, together with any third party comments received at that time and following a visit to the site by an appointed Inspector. No additional written information will be considered by the inspector so it is important that you submit all relevant information at the outset. Please follow this link for the latest Appeal Forms and Guidance for Appellants.
We do not pretend that the process is foolproof or fault free so if you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us by any of the methods indicated below.
Tree Preservation Order Review
Breckland Council is currently undertaking a review of their Tree Preservation Orders in line with Government guidance, please follow the link below for further information.
Tree Preservation Order Review
Conservation Areas
Conservation Areas are parts of towns and villages that have been identified as being of special architectural or historic interest. The council aims to preserve or enhance the character of these areas.
Trees are included as part of the definition of character. Accordingly all trees with a trunk diameter of 75mm or greater measured 1.5m above the ground, carry the same protection and penalties that they would have if they were covered by a Tree Preservation Order.
Should you wish to carry out work to any trees in a Conservation Area, you are required to give the Council 6 weeks notice of your intentions and the reasons for them. The Council reserves the six week period in which to make a Tree Preservation Order if it wishes to retain the tree, or declare that it has no objections. In practice, it will declare its view much sooner than six weeks and if no TPO is forthcoming, work may proceed henceforth.
Follow this link to the Planning Portal Website where you can view a map of Conservation Areas within Breckland
Applications Forms & Guidance Notes
An application form to carry out work to a protected tree can be downloaded by clicking on the link below together with guidance leaflets which should help you in the process.
Tree Preservation Order and Conservation Area Tree Work Applications
Below are lists of registered and determined Tree Work Applications [this information will be available on this website for a period of up to 8 weeks]
Further information
The Arboricultural Association
www.trees.org.uk
The International Society of Arboriculture
www.isa-uki.org
Wildtrees
website for Conservation Arborists
www.wildtrees.co.uk
The Tree Advice Trust
www.treehelp.info
Should you require any additional information not provided on these pages, please contact:
Breckland Council
Tree and Countryside Officer
Elizabeth House
Walpole Loke
DEREHAM
Norfolk
NR19 1EE
Telephone
01362 656873
email: treeandcountryside@breckland.gov.uk
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