Last Updated on September 4, 2026
Tree Preservation Orders are the best content opportunity in tree surgery and almost nobody uses them. The homeowner’s search is not “tree surgeon near me”, it is “can I cut down the tree in my garden”. Answer that honestly and the felling job follows. Here are the rules in plain English, and how to publish them without playing solicitor. This is marketing guidance about explaining the rules, not legal advice about applying them: the council decides TPO matters, always.
The rules, plainly
Per gov.uk’s planning guidance, read 4 September 2026: anyone wanting to cut down, top, lop or uproot a tree under a TPO must first apply to the local planning authority for consent, on a standard form, with the authority taking up to eight weeks. Working on a protected tree without consent is a criminal matter: a fine of up to £20,000 in a magistrates’ court, and an unlimited fine on conviction in the Crown Court. In conservation areas, most work on trees needs a section 211 notice to the council six weeks before it happens, even where no TPO exists.
Why explaining this wins work
The customer facing these rules is anxious, liable and confused, and the firm that de-confuses them becomes the obvious hire. A plain-English page on your site, what a TPO is, how to check the council register, what the six week conservation rule means, what you handle on the customer’s behalf, does three jobs at once: it ranks for the questions people type, it feeds the AI answers that increasingly front those searches, and it positions you as the firm that keeps customers out of trouble, and out of a £20,000 fine.
The service worth naming
Make the check itself a named, free part of every quote: we check the TPO register and conservation area status before any work is priced. Then, where consent is needed, say what you do, prepare and submit the application with the owner, specify works to BS3998, deal with the tree officer. Firms do this work anyway; naming it converts it from overhead into the reason you were chosen. One honest caveat belongs on the page: consent is the council’s decision, timelines are theirs, and no reputable firm promises outcomes.
Storm damage and the exceptions
Dead and dangerous trees carry exceptions, but the safe public line is that exceptions are narrow, evidence matters, and five days’ notice is still generally expected where practicable: exactly the nuance that belongs in a we-handle-it sentence rather than a DIY encouragement. The marketing job is to be the firm the customer rings before touching anything.
Common questions
What happens if you cut down a protected tree without permission?
Per gov.uk, unauthorised work on a TPO tree can mean a fine of up to £20,000 in a magistrates’ court and an unlimited fine in the Crown Court. Consent from the local planning authority is needed first, and applications take up to eight weeks.
Do I need permission to prune a tree in a conservation area?
For most work on trees in a conservation area you must give the council six weeks’ written notice, a section 211 notice, even if the tree has no TPO. The council uses that window to decide whether to protect the tree.
Should a tree surgeon handle TPO applications?
Reputable firms routinely check the TPO register before quoting and prepare consent applications with the owner. If you run a tree surgery firm, naming that service on your website turns compliance work you already do into a reason customers choose you.
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