Tree Preservation Orders in Surrey — A Homeowner's Guide

If you've discovered that a tree in your garden has a Tree Preservation Order on it — or you're not sure whether it does — this guide will tell you everything you need to know. TPOs are one of the most misunderstood areas of tree law in the UK, and getting it wrong can result in serious fines. But handled correctly, they're not as complicated as they might seem.

What Is a Tree Preservation Order?

A Tree Preservation Order (TPO) is a legal protection placed on a tree or group of trees by a local planning authority. In Surrey, this means councils like Tandridge District Council, Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, Mole Valley District Council, Guildford Borough Council, and Epsom & Ewell Borough Council, among others.

The purpose of a TPO is to protect trees that make a significant contribution to the local environment and amenity. This might be because of the tree's size, species, age, ecological value, or its visual prominence in the landscape.

TPOs are common across Surrey — particularly in the greenbelt, AONB areas, and older residential neighbourhoods where significant trees have been growing for generations. Areas like Warlingham, Oxted, Dorking, and the villages around Sevenoaks in Kent have particularly high concentrations of TPO trees.

What Does a TPO Actually Prevent?

A TPO prevents the owner or occupier of land from:

• Cutting down (felling) the tree
• Topping or lopping the tree in a way that would seriously affect its health or appearance
• Uprooting the tree
• Carrying out any other action that would willfully damage or destroy the tree

This means you need consent before carrying out any significant pruning work on a protected tree — not just removal. A crown reduction, crown lift, or even removing large limbs all typically require prior consent from your local council.

What's Allowed Without Consent?

There are some exceptions to TPO restrictions. You can carry out work on a protected tree without consent if:

• The tree is dead, dying, or poses an immediate risk of serious harm — but you should notify the council as soon as possible and retain evidence that the tree was in this condition
• The work is required to prevent or abate a nuisance under specific legal powers
• The work is carried out by or on behalf of certain statutory bodies in specific circumstances
• You're carrying out minor pruning that won't harm the tree (this is a grey area and professional advice is recommended)

How Do You Know If Your Tree Has a TPO?

This is one of the most common questions we're asked. There are a few ways to find out:

• Check your local council's website — most Surrey councils have online TPO registers or interactive maps you can search by address
• Contact your local planning authority directly and ask them to check for you
• Ask us — when we come to assess your trees, we check TPO status as a matter of course before recommending any work

Don't assume a tree doesn't have a TPO just because you weren't told about it when you bought your property. TPOs run with the land, not the owner — so they don't expire when a property changes hands, and you're not automatically notified that they exist.

What About Conservation Areas?

Even if your tree doesn't have a specific TPO, it may still be protected if it's within a Conservation Area. In a Conservation Area, you must give your local council six weeks' written notice before carrying out any work on a tree with a trunk diameter greater than 75mm (measured at 1.5m from ground level).

During those six weeks, the council can decide to make a TPO on the tree, which would then require formal consent before any work proceeds. If they don't respond or object within six weeks, you can go ahead with the work.

Conservation Areas are common across Surrey — they include historic village centres, parkland settings, and older residential areas in towns like Reigate, Guildford, and Epsom.

How Do You Apply for TPO Consent?

To carry out work on a TPO tree, you need to submit a Section 206 application (or Section 211 notification for Conservation Areas) to your local planning authority. The application should include:

• Your name and contact details
• The address of the property
• A description of the tree(s) — species, location, size
• A clear description of the work you want to carry out
• Your reasons for the application
• Sometimes: a tree survey or arboricultural report supporting the application

The council then has eight weeks to make a decision. They can grant consent (with or without conditions), refuse consent, or in some cases require replacement planting as a condition of approval.

We handle TPO applications regularly on behalf of our clients across Surrey and Kent — from straightforward crown reduction consents to more complex cases involving multiple trees or difficult planning histories. If you'd rather not deal with the paperwork yourself, we can manage the whole process.

What Are the Consequences of Ignoring a TPO?

This is where it gets serious. Carrying out work on a TPO tree without consent is a criminal offence. The penalties are substantial:

• In a Magistrates' Court: an unlimited fine
• In a Crown Court: an unlimited fine and potentially a criminal record
• You may also be required to replace the tree at your own expense

Councils take enforcement seriously, particularly for deliberate felling of protected trees. We're aware of cases in Surrey where homeowners have received fines of tens of thousands of pounds for removing TPO trees without consent. It's never worth the risk.

Our Advice: Always Check Before You Act

The golden rule is simple: if in doubt, check before you do anything. It costs nothing to call your council's planning department and ask whether your tree is protected. It also costs nothing to ask us — when we visit a property for a quotation, we always check TPO and Conservation Area status before recommending any work.

A good tree surgeon will never encourage you to carry out work on a protected tree without proper consent. If you're ever quoted for tree work without any mention of planning permissions, that's a red flag worth taking seriously.