Do I need permission to cut down a tree?

Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs)

A TPO is an order made by the local planning authority protecting a specific tree, group of trees or woodland. Under a TPO it is an offence to cut down, top, lop, uproot, damage or destroy the tree without the council's written consent, and that includes pruning, not just felling.

TPOs are more common than people expect in this area: mature trees in and around Cockermouth, Whitehaven, Keswick and the older parts of most West Cumbrian towns carry them. There is no marking on the tree, so the only way to know is to check the register. For most of West Cumbria that means Cumberland Council; inside the National Park it is theLake District National Park Authority. Both confirm by address, and we run this check as part of every quote on mature trees.

If consent is needed, an application is free and typically decided within eight weeks. A good application says exactly what work is proposed and why, which is where having a qualified tree surgeon write the specification to BS3998 makes approval far more likely.

Conservation areas

In a conservation area, every tree with a trunk wider than 75mm (measured at 1.5m up) is protected by default. You must give the council six weeks' written notice before any work. The notice period exists so the council can decide whether the tree merits a TPO. After six weeks with no objection, the work can go ahead.

West Cumbria has more conservation areas than most people realise: the centres of Cockermouth, Whitehaven and Keswick, the old village cores of St Bees and others. If your house is Georgian or Victorian and near the middle of town, assume the designation until checked. We file the six-week notice as part of the job; it is routine paperwork for us.

The Lake District National Park

Around Keswick, Braithwaite, Borrowdale and everywhere else inside the park boundary, the National Park Authority is the planning authority, and it takes trees seriously. TPOs and conservation-area rules work the same way, but enforcement attention is higher and the authority is more likely to attach conditions. Work inside the park is entirely doable; it simply rewards doing the paperwork properly first.

Felling licences

Separate from TPOs: felling more than five cubic metres of timber in any calendar quarter (roughly a handful of mature trees) needs a felling licence from the Forestry Commission, even on your own land. Garden trees are exempt. This mostly matters for woodland, shelter-belt and land-clearance jobs, and we check it before those start.

The exceptions

Even protected trees can be worked on without consent when they are dead, or when work is urgently necessary to remove an immediate risk of serious harm. The bar is high, the burden of proof is on you, and photographs and a professional assessment beforehand are what keep you safe. Nesting birds are protected separately: significant work between February and August needs a nest check whatever the tree's legal status.

The short version

Check before you cut. It costs nothing, takes days not months in most cases, and the alternative is a criminal offence with fines up to £20,000 per tree. If you use us, the checking and the paperwork are part of the job. Tell us the address and we will tell you exactly what applies.