The 1990 Town and Country Planning Act places a duty on local planning authorities to make TPOs to preserve trees or woodlands in their area. We regularly make new orders to protect trees and we have a standard tree evaluation system to assess them. This assessment takes account of:

• Landscape importance and visibility
• Aesthetic value
• Intrinsic beauty
• Relation to setting
• The condition and form of the tree

The government advises local planning authorities to keep their TPOs under review in order to ensure they are accurate, relevant and defensible. We are, therefore, in the continual and long-term process of carrying out a review of our TPOs.

Propose a Tree Preservation Order

To propose a tree or trees should be considered for a tree preservation order, please email us using the contact details below and provide the following:

• Details of the tree, trees, or woodland
• Location of tree, trees or woodland
• Why the tree or trees are of value to the public
• Why they are considered to be at risk

We will assess the information against the criteria above. However, although a tree(s) may merit protection on amenity grounds, it is not always fitting to make a Tree Preservation Order where they are under good arboricultural management and not at risk of being cut down.