Planning permission for tree work in London
Pruning or felling a tree is not a planning application, but it can still need the council's consent. A tree under a preservation order needs consent first. A tree in a conservation area needs six weeks' written notice, unless its trunk is 75 millimetres or less across. Check both before anyone picks up a saw.
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Two protections, two different routes
A tree can be protected in two ways, and the route to work on it differs. A tree preservation order, or TPO, is made by the council on a specific tree or group. Trees in a conservation area are protected by the area itself, without any order being made.
The government's planning practice guidance on tree preservation orders and trees in conservation areas is the authority for both. Whichever applies, do the check first, because work on a protected tree without the right paperwork can lead to enforcement action.
Trees in a conservation area: the 6-week notice
If your tree stands in a conservation area and has no TPO, you give the council a 6-week notice before cutting it down or doing certain other work to it. This is a section 211 notice, and the council uses the six weeks to decide whether to make a TPO. Under the guidance, the notice is given 6 weeks before carrying out the work.
There is a small exemption. No notice is needed for a tree whose diameter, measured at 1.5 metres above ground, does not exceed 75 millimetres (75mm). Very small trees and saplings therefore fall outside the rule, but measure properly before relying on it.
Our analysis of the MHCLG Planning Data Platform datasets (bulk snapshot retrieved 19 Oct 2026) finds 1,154 live conservation-area entries on the national register across the 33 London councils. Whether your road is in one is a question for your council's own map; see our conservation area guide.
Our analysis of the MHCLG Planning Data Platform datasets (bulk snapshot retrieved 19 Oct 2026) finds 1,154 live conservation-area entries on the national register across the 33 London councils.
Trees under a preservation order
Where a TPO covers the tree, you apply to the council for consent for the work, and you describe what you want to do and why. Do not start until the council has decided.
If the council has not decided within 8 weeks from the day it receives the application, the applicant may appeal to the Planning Inspectorate on the ground of non-determination. That is a backstop. Before it comes to that, talking the proposal through with the council's tree officer can settle the details.
When the tree is in the way of a building project
Trees often turn up on a planning application rather than in a tree-work request. A new extension, garage or outbuilding near a protected tree can lead the council to ask for a tree survey and a tree protection plan showing how roots and trunks are kept safe during building.
That plan sits beside the architectural drawings, so it is worth knowing early. Where the trees are close to the work, our house extension drawings and garden room drawings show the footprint the arborist must work around. If the new foundations will be dug close to a neighbour's building, read our party wall agreement guide too.
A short routine before any tree work
Ask the council whether a TPO covers the tree, and whether the property is in a conservation area. If either applies, apply or give notice and wait for the answer.
Keep the written reply, in case the question comes up again later. For work tied to a planning application, our guide to getting planning permission in London shows where the tree checks fit.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| 6 weeks | Planning practice guidance, Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas, paragraph 116: a section 211 notice is given 6 weeks before work on a tree in a conservation area (source wording: "6 weeks before carrying out certain work on such trees") | www.gov.uk |
| 8 weeks | Planning practice guidance, Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas, paragraph 101: if the council has not decided an application for consent within 8 weeks, the applicant may appeal for non-determination (source wording: "within 8 weeks from the day it is received") | www.gov.uk |
| 75 millimetres | Planning practice guidance, Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas, paragraph 131: no section 211 notice is needed for a tree whose diameter, measured at 1.5 metres above ground, does not exceed 75 millimetres (source wording: "whose diameter does not exceed 75 millimetres") | www.gov.uk |
| 1,154 | Our analysis of MHCLG Planning Data Platform conservation-area and article-4-direction datasets (bulk snapshot retrieved 19 Oct 2026) | www.planning.data.gov.uk |
| 6-week | Notice to local planning authority 6 weeks before work on trees in a conservation area (section 211 notice) (source wording: 6 weeks) | www.gov.uk |
| 75mm | Section 211 notice not required for trees in a conservation area with diameter not exceeding 75 mm (measured over bark at 1.5 m) (source wording: 75 millimetres) | www.gov.uk |