Removing trees from property

SSW83

Hi all,

I think this is the right place for this question, but if not please feel free to move it.

I'm looking for some advice regarding removing some trees from a property I am in the process of purchasing. A big reason for purchasing this property is the potential suitability of the garden for my needs, which are to grow lots of fruit, vegetables and fruiting trees, and to keep chickens on. Currently, the rear garden has a number of mature trees which stop direct sunlight reaching pretty much all of the garden (all 300m2 of it). The garden is south-facing, and we viewed at midday on a sunny day and the garden was mostly in shade, with some dappled sunlight in places. This obviously does not lend itself to growing fruit and vegetables.

I asked the vendor if they are aware of any TPOs in place, and they were not. I have contacted my solicitor, and they have said any TPOs will come up in their searches. I then asked a further question of whether, assuming no TPO, I could go ahead a remove the trees without informing the local authority, and they said they would recommend I do inform them, but that ultimately it was my property.

I appreciate this sounds a little under-handed, but I'm wary because a colleague of mine, under the same local authority, has a lime tree actively damaging his boundary wall and whilst there was no TPO on this tree, when he contacted the council about removing it, they put a protection order on it preventing him from doing so. This would be a worst case scenario for me as I would be left with essentially an unusable garden (for my purposes).

So, if there were no TPOs in place, could I just remove the trees upon taking ownership of the property without any repercussions from the local authority by not informing them? I appreciate some people will suggest buying a different property, but this one is in the right location for schools, has everything on our wish list, and we got a good price as it was relisted for quick sale as the original buyer pulled out. I would also like to point out that I would retain some of the trees for privacy, and that I would also be planting fruiting trees and will provide bird nesting boxes throughout the garden.

Thanks for reading.

pinkteapot

Will you be cutting them down yourself or getting a company in to do it?

I've always used reputable tree surgeons and they check for TPOs and advise on any other permissions required (there have never been any). I've never thought to inform the local council outside of that...

muhandis

You are permitted to prune or cut down any tree on your land, regardless of whether it is healthy or not, if it is not subject to a Tree Preservation Order or located with a conservation area.

Whether or not there is a TPO is very easy to check for yourself on the council website.

In your place I would save any proof which shows that there isn't a TPO for any trees at the address and then go ahead and do what I need to do.

ethank

I had four horrible Leylandii trees outside a flat I owned. I called the Council to see if they had a TPO, they confirmed that it did not, but as they were quite old, they confirmed they would issue me with paperwork to protect them.

I asked how long it would take, and they said 10 days....

I told them not to bother, the trees would not be around in 10 days.

I had the removed two days later...

daveyjp

Once you have confirmation it has no TPO you can chop trees down.

Don't contact the Council for permission once confirmed. The tree officer could be out and TPO it almost immediately, its a quick process.

sevenhills

daveyjp wrote: »

Once you have confirmation it has no TPO you can chop trees down.

Don't contact the Council for permission once confirmed. The tree officer could be out and TPO it almost immediately, its a quick process.

I agree and I plant trees in my local area because I believe we should have more.
Get them cut down by a professional before anyone gets wind of your ideas.

da_rule

You’ll also need to check whether the property is in a conservation area as you need to give notice before you can do work on trees in a conservation area regardless of whether they are protected or not.

Again, a reputable tree surgeon will check this out before doing any works.

sevenhills

da_rule wrote: »

You’ll also need to check whether the property is in a conservation area as you need to give notice before you can do work on trees in a conservation area regardless of whether they are protected or not.

Again, a reputable tree surgeon will check this out before doing any works.

In conservation areas, notice is required for works to trees that have a trunk diameter of more than 75mm when measured at 1.5m from ground level

Davesnave

You do realise that chickens are descended from jungle fowl, so much prefer some tree cover? It would therefore be wise to leave something for them.

Also, not all fruit or veg needs full sun, or benefits in hot weather from intense exposure, though I appreciate tree roots may impede growing in some circumstances.

People too, particularly children, need some shade when the UV index is high.

Finally, don't forget tht the opposite of subsidence is heave. If you are on clay soil in particular, tree removal needs doing carefully, with advice from a properly trained and local tree surgeon.

SSW83

Thank you everybody for your replies - I now have a clear understanding of what I should do.

@Davesnave, I will be leaving some trees for privacy and shade, and possibly just cutting back some others. I don't think I'd be very popular with the child or the other-half if I turned the entire garden into a kitchen garden!