Advice on tree-related legislation and regulations

Over 30 years’ experience in the legal sector enables me to provide expert advice on the legislation and regulations which apply to trees and hedges.

Whether related to a planning development or as part of a general maintenance requirement, trees which are subject to Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) or are located in a Conservation Area require careful management. Large fines may be imposed by Local Authorities for a failure to observe regulations. Trees make an important contribution to the preservation of a locality’s environmental characteristics and Local Authorities have a duty to uphold the regulatory and legislative instruments which apply to them.

Of course, trees generally require maintenance; to assist tree owners I provide a detailed work specification to accompany the submission to the Local Authority. This submission constitutes an application for permission to carry out work to a TPO’d tree, or as a notice of intent to carry out works in a Conservation Area. 

Should an application for works be refused an appeal against the Local Authority decision may be made. I provide clients with advice and if required submit the appeal on their behalf.

If a new TPO has been served by a Local Authority (often in response to a 6 weeks’ Conservation Area works notice) and a client considers that the subject trees do not warrant . Chaucer Landscape Management will carry out an objective condition and visual amenity assessment, to determine the suitability of the tree for inclusion in a TPO. If structural or physiological defects are noted, or visual impact is found to be lacking, an objection to the TPO may be submitted to the Local Authority to allow a review of the Order to be carried out prior to confirmation.

Some hedgerows are also legally protected, and high hedges are often the source of neighbourhood disputes. I can provide expert assistance in both cases, in the case of high hedges providing an assessment of the likelihood of a complaint being successful prior to submission (and often incurring a fee from the Local Authority). Should your hedge be the subject of a complaint, I can appraise the Local Authority Assessment against the criteria set out in the relevant legislation to advise whether an appeal against remedial works is likely to be successful.