What Is a TPO? Tree Preservation Orders Explained

In August 2025, a homeowner’s appeal against her conviction for felling a protected lime tree was dismissed at Newport Crown Court. She was ordered to pay £16,000 in fines and £100,000 in prosecution costs — £116,000 in total, to be settled within twelve months. This is not an aberration; it reflects what the legislation actually allows. Under Section 210 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, breaching a Tree Preservation Order can attract an unlimited fine when tried in the Crown Court. The defence of not knowing the tree was protected has never been accepted as a mitigation. There are approximately 49,000 Tree Preservation Orders currently in force across England. A significant proportion of the homeowners affected by them are unaware the order exists until the moment they want to do something to the tree.

A Tree Preservation Order is a legal designation made by a local planning authority that requires you to obtain written consent before carrying out any significant work on a protected tree — including pruning, not just felling. Here is what you need to understand.

How TPOs Work

TPOs are made under Section 198 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. They can protect individual trees, groups of trees, or woodlands. The order must be made by the local planning authority (LPA) — in Hampshire, that’s councils like Winchester City Council, Test Valley Borough Council, Eastleigh Borough Council and East Hampshire District Council, depending on where your property is located.

A council can make a TPO at any point where they consider it necessary to protect a tree that contributes to the amenity of the local area. They don’t need to inform the tree’s owner before making an order — the first you may know about it is when you receive a notice that a TPO has been made.

What Work Requires TPO Consent?

Any work that would affect the tree — including:

• Felling or removing the tree
• Crown reduction, thinning or lifting
• Deadwooding (significant removal)
• Pollarding or coppicing
• Any work that would affect the tree’s health, form or structural integrity

Minor cosmetic pruning that doesn’t affect the overall health and structure of the tree may not require consent, but this is a grey area and we’d always recommend checking before starting work. The safest approach is to apply for consent for anything beyond very minor deadwood removal.

Exemptions — When Can You Work Without Consent?

There are limited exemptions where you can carry out work without a TPO consent application:

• Dead trees: You can remove dead wood from a TPO tree, and fell a tree that is dead — but you should notify the LPA as soon as reasonably practicable and be able to demonstrate that the tree was dead.
• Dying or dangerous trees: Where a tree poses an immediate risk to safety, urgent work can be carried out — but again, you must notify the council and have evidence of the risk (ideally a written arboricultural assessment).
• Statutory obligations: If you’re legally required to remove a tree (e.g. under a highways obligation), consent isn’t required.

How to Apply for TPO Consent

Applications are made to the relevant local planning authority. The application should describe the tree(s), the proposed work and the reasons for it. For significant work, an arboricultural report supporting the application is usually advisable — particularly where the council may be resistant. The LPA has a target of eight weeks to determine the application, though they may grant or refuse within this period. 📅 Plan ahead: if you want work done at the optimal time of year (winter is ideal for most pruning and removal), apply well in advance — see our seasonal tree care calendar to time your application correctly.

We submit TPO applications on behalf of our clients and, where required, prepare supporting arboricultural statements. See our TPO applications page for more detail.

TPOs vs Conservation Area Protection

These are different systems that can overlap. Conservation area protection requires you to give six weeks’ notice (a Section 211 notification) before doing any work on trees over a certain size within a designated conservation area — but unlike a TPO, the council can only stop the work if they make the tree the subject of a TPO within that six-week window. Many areas of Winchester, Bishops Waltham and other Hampshire towns and villages are in conservation areas. See our conservation area tree work page.

How Do I Know if My Tree Has a TPO?

The best approach is to contact your local planning authority and ask them to check their records for your address. Most LPAs now have online mapping tools showing TPO locations. If you’re in Winchester, Winchester City Council’s planning portal allows you to search by address. We also check TPO status as standard before quoting for any tree work.