Tree Regulations in NW London — TPOs, Conservation Areas & Permissions

A Tree Preservation Order (TPO) is made by a local authority to protect specific trees or groups of trees. Once a TPO is in place, you cannot cut down, uproot, top, lop, willfully damage, or carry out any work on the tree without applying for consent from the council. TPOs apply to trees of significant amenity value — typically mature, healthy trees that make a positive contribution to the character of an area. In NW London, Camden, Westminster, and Barnet all have extensive records of TPOs. You can check whether a tree has a TPO by searching the council's online tree map or by calling the council's tree officer.

Conservation area protections are broader than TPOs. In a conservation area, any tree with a trunk diameter of more than 75mm (measured 1.5m above ground level) is protected. You cannot carry out any work on such a tree without giving the council at least 6 weeks notice. This notification period gives the council time to make a TPO if they consider the tree to be of sufficient value to warrant formal protection. Hampstead village, Belsize Park, Primrose Hill, and many other NW London neighbourhoods are conservation areas. If you live in one — and many NW London residents do — assume that all significant trees require notification before any work.

Certain tree work is exempt from TPO and conservation area requirements. Exempt work includes: dead trees (the tree must be demonstrably dead, not just looking unwell — seek an arborist opinion); dangerous trees where immediate action is necessary to prevent harm (document the danger with photographs and contact the council promptly); trees with a trunk diameter of less than 75mm (in conservation areas, exempt from notification); fruit trees cultivated for fruit production (some pruning operations only); and cutting back branches that overhang a neighbour's property to the boundary line (though this does not give you the right to enter their land). When in doubt, notify before doing anything.

For TPO work, submit a Tree Works application to your council online through the Planning Portal. The application should describe: the tree, the location, the specific works proposed, and the arboricultural reason for the works. The council's tree officer will assess the application and may approve it, modify it, or refuse it. For conservation area notifications, submit a "Section 211 Notice" giving 6 weeks notice of the proposed works. The council has 6 weeks to respond — after that period, work can proceed if the council has not made a TPO. Allow extra time in your programme for the application and decision period.

The penalties for carrying out work on a protected tree without consent are severe. Under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the maximum fine for felling or damaging a TPO tree is unlimited. Courts take the amenity value of the tree into account when sentencing — the fine for felling a mature oak in a conservation area could run to tens of thousands of pounds. There have been prosecutions of both homeowners and tree surgeons. A tree surgeon who carries out work on a protected tree without checking for protections — and there are unfortunately some who do — is not a defence. The landowner is responsible for ensuring consent is in place.