Trees in backyard

Tracey2609

Also not all L.A charge for applications to work on trees (ours certainly doesn't)

flora48

I lived in a Conservation Area and each time I needed to attend to the trees there was a charge of about £30 to submit plans for the work which was then listed as a Planning Application. This permission should have been sought for any work but regular maintenance was done without but I was contravening the rules. Extra rules also apply to any building work planned in a Conservation Area.

tyllwyd

Unless the trees are in your front garden or there is any other unusual factor, I'd be really surprised if there was a tree preservation order on them, although you could always contact the council to find out.

You do have to be careful with trees near the house, so I'd incline towards taking them down. I can't remember exactly, but I think we've paid something like £100-200 in the past to have trees taken down alongside other work. (If you get someone in, find out whether the quote includes taking all the wood away and getting rid of the stump.)

Tracey2609

To be fair there are rules and guidelines for the Council to follow when placing TPO's, and there are several types of TPO, so you are best to do your homework - Woodland: protects everything that is in place when the TPO is first served, but also any saplings above a certain diameter will automatically be covered. An area order is protects just the trees that were in situ at the time it was placed and usually has a coverall wording "mixed trees species" or "All trees within the specified area including...". There are also individual trees and or groups protected by TPO's. So essentially even if the tree is in the back garden of a property it can still be protected by an older TPO, or even a new one if it has significant visual amenity. Sorry if I've rambled on...

Tracey2609

tyllwyd wrote: »

Unless the trees are in your front garden or there is any other unusual factor, I'd be really surprised if there was a tree preservation order on them, although you could always contact the council to find out.

You do have to be careful with trees near the house, so I'd incline towards taking them down. I can't remember exactly, but I think we've paid something like £100-200 in the past to have trees taken down alongside other work. (If you get someone in, find out whether the quote includes taking all the wood away and getting rid of the stump.)

If you are getting in someone to do the work - make sure they are insured to undertake the work - if the contractor carries out work without insurance and they cause damage to a surrounding property. Not only can the contractor undertaking the work be taken to court but you can as well!

dizziblonde

Tracey2609 wrote: »

Woodland: protects everything that is in place when the TPO is first served, but also any saplings above a certain diameter will automatically be covered.

I believe the wretched leylandii in my mother's garden are now covered by such a thing - in no way part of the area woodland order when it was originally made, but doing as leylandii do, they've grown to make sure they're protected themselves (I hate the flipping things - leylandii that is - not woodlands)! Worth checking in case it's that kind of situation - although my parents live in quite an isolated woodland house, the TPO does affect any decent sized tree within their garden too.

planning_officer

dizziblonde wrote: »

I believe the wretched leylandii in my mother's garden are now covered by such a thing - in no way part of the area woodland order when it was originally made, but doing as leylandii do, they've grown to make sure they're protected themselves (I hate the flipping things - leylandii that is - not woodlands)! Worth checking in case it's that kind of situation - although my parents live in quite an isolated woodland house, the TPO does affect any decent sized tree within their garden too.

A TPO will only ever protect the trees that were present at the time the TPO was made, so if the leylandii have grown up since, they won't be protected.

Tracey2609

2.2 Neither does the Act define the term 'woodland'. In the Secretary of State's view, trees which are planted or grow naturally within the woodland area after the TPO is made are also protected by the TPO.8 This is because the purpose of the TPO is to safeguard the woodland unit as a whole which depends on regeneration or new planting. But as far as the TPO is concerned, only the cutting down, destruction or carrying out of work on trees within the woodland area is prohibited; whether or not seedlings, for example, are 'trees' for the purposes of the Act would be a matter for the Courts to decide in the circumstances of the particular case.

I refer you to the information above it's available on the GOSE website - in a document called Tree Preservation Orders: A Guide to the Law and Good Practice - I've underlined the bit that I feel is relevant here, however it is unlikely that a Leylandii would be included in a woodland order.

planning_officer

I stand corrected - what I said is true in the case of an 'area TPO' but clearly not in the case of a 'woodland TPO'. I will check with our tree officer at work...!

Mrs_Arcanum

Planning committees tend to be a bit more forgiving regarding conifers as they are so fast growing.