Can you cut down a tree at your home in England? TPO rules and fines

Before you fell or heavily prune a tree in your garden in England, check whether it is protected. Under GOV.UK rules, the local planning authority can place a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) on a tree, group of trees or woodland that matters to the look of the area. Breaching a TPO is a criminal offence.

What does a TPO ban?

The order prohibits, without the council's written consent, cutting down, topping, lopping, uprooting, or wilfully damaging or destroying the tree. A protected tree can be of any size or species. Shrubs are normally excluded, but a tree in a hedge can be covered.

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How do you get consent?

You apply on the standard form through the Planning Portal or the council, with a plan identifying the tree, a clear specification of the work and your reasons. If the authority has not decided within 8 weeks, you can appeal for non-determination. Exceptions exist — for example work on a dead or genuinely dangerous tree (sometimes with notice), work required by an Act, or abating a nuisance.

What if the tree is in a conservation area?

Even without a separate TPO, trees in a conservation area are protected. Before carrying out work you must give the council written notice under section 211 — 6 weeks in advance. In that time the authority may consent or make a TPO. Doing the work without notice is also an offence.

How do you check if a tree is protected?

There is no single public register of every TPO, so the most reliable step is to ask the council's planning team, giving the address: they will tell you whether there is an order and whether the site is in a conservation area. It is free and takes minutes. Remember the exceptions: work on a genuinely dead or dangerous tree can sometimes start without consent, but it is safer to notify the council first and keep evidence (photos, an arborist's report) — otherwise you may have to prove the danger was real.

What are the penalties?

For cutting down, uprooting or destroying a protected tree without consent, the magistrates' court can impose a fine of up to £20,000 (section 210(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990). Serious cases go to the Crown Court, where the fine is unlimited. The court must take into account any financial benefit the offender gained or was likely to gain. Other breaches of an order carry a fine of up to £2,500 (Level 4).

Do you have to plant a new tree?

Yes. If a protected tree is removed in breach of an order, the landowner must plant a replacement. The same duty applies when a tree outside woodland is removed as dead or dangerous. The council can require planting as a condition of consent and enforce it through a tree replacement notice.

Bottom line: before touching a large tree, ask the council whether there is a TPO and whether the site is in a conservation area. One phone call is cheaper than a five-figure fine.