Subject to planning permission
When planning
permission is granted, conditions might be added that requires the
submission of and carrying out of a landscaping scheme. In such
circumstances the trees planted will, normally, be required to be
retained. If work was proposed to trees or other planting covered
by a condition then the written permission from the authority would
first be required.
Trees in conservation areas
Proposals to top, lop, fell
or uproot trees in conservation areas require the consent of the
council. You can seek advice from our Arboricultural Officer at
Telford & Wrekin Services on 01952 384384.
Prior to such work being undertaken you should inform the council
of your intentions, confirming where the tree(s) is(are), what work
you wish to undertake and why. In cases of felling you should
comment as to whether or not you intend any re-planting. A form
that will provide us with the required information is available
planning forms & notes. Benefit
will come if you get an independent appraisal of the intended
tree work from a specialist tree expert and submit their report
as part of your proposals.
Following receipt of your application, the council will within 6
weeks either confirm acceptance of the work or, if they object,
will make the trees the subject of a Tree Preservation Order. If no
decision is received within six weeks then consent is gained by
default.
Tree Preservation Orders
A Tree Preservation Order
(TPO) gives statutory protection to individual trees, groups of
trees and woodlands. TPO's can be made by the council when they
consider the tree(s) are of amenity value and there may be a risk
of work being done to them that would harm that value. Hedges,
bushes and shrubs cannot be covered, although individual trees and
groups of trees within a hedge may be preserved.
Prior to doing work to such a protected tree ie, top, lop, fell or
uproot, consent should be gained from the council. There are
certain exceptions that you can check out in more detail on the
DCLG website. A form that will provide
us with the information we need to consider an application is
available at planning forms & notes. The
application must state the reasons for making the application
and by reference to a plan, specify the trees to which the
application relates and the operations for which consent is
required. It is a criminal offence to do works to such trees
without first having the benefit of consent.
Within eight weeks of receipt, the council is required to either
grant consent, possibly subject to conditions, or refuse consent.
In circumstances where it is found necessary to refuse consent then
there is a right of appeal against that decision.
Details of orders are available for inspection at the Local
Planning Authority's offices. An official search of the local land
charges register can also be made before you purchase a property.
This should reveal the existence of a Tree Preservation Order (or
whether your property is in a conservation area). Make sure your
solicitor tells you if any trees are protected.
If you want to find out if consent has been obtained to carry out
works to a protected tree, please contact Planning Control. There
is a register of applications and decisions which you can look
at.
The council can, if it chooses, make an order which will come into
effect immediately and will continue for six months, or until it is
confirmed, whichever comes first. When the council confirms the
order it can modify it, for example by excluding some of the
trees.
The council will write to the owner and other interested parties,
if an order is made. If you or anyone else wants to object to or
support an order, write to Democratic Services within the period
they allow (usually one month from the date of letter) saying why
and giving details of the relevant trees. The Borough Council will
take these comments into account when it decides whether to confirm
the order.
The owner remains responsible for the trees, their condition and
any damage they may cause. The Planning Authority may be able to
offer appropriate help and advice on how the trees should be
managed.
The DCLG has published "Tree Preservation Orders: A Guide to the
Law and Good Practice. See
DCLG website. You may also find it
helpful to obtain a copy of the Forestry Commission's booklet
Tree Felling - getting permission. Write to the Forestry
Commission, 231 Corstophine Road, Edinburgh EH12 7AT.
High hedgerows
Since June 2005, the council has been
responsible for dealing with complaints from people who live next
to a hedge that is so high that it is affecting the level of light
coming into their property.
The person making a complaint must be the owner or occupier of the
residential property affected by a high hedge. If you do not own
the property (eg because you are a tenant or a leaseholder), you
can still make a complaint but you should let the owner (eg
landlord or management company) know what you are doing. The
property you live in must include some living accommodation
otherwise the Council cannot consider the complaint.
Involving the council must be your last resort and a complaint can
only be made if you really cannot agree a solution with the owner
of the hedge. The council can refuse to intervene if you
haven't done everything you reasonably could to settle your dispute
before making a formal complaint to the council. The council will
not consider a complaint received within 12 months of a previous
complaint about the same hedge.
Before you consider using the complaint procedure you must decide
if the hedge about which you are concerned satisfies the following
criteria:
- The section of hedge that is causing problems must be
made up of a line of 2 or more trees or shrubs. You cannot
complain about individual trees or shrubs.
- It must be evergreen. The complaint can only
be about a species that keeps some live or green leaves all year
round. This can include privet and most coniferous types. However
it does not include beech or hornbeam hedges because the leaves
they keep through the winter are dead or brown.
- It must be more than 2 metres tall. Measure
the trees or shrubs that make up the hedge from the base of each
plant where it enters the soil. However if the plant is on a bank
or in a raised bed then the measurement must be taken from the
original ground level, before the bank or raised bed were created.
Even though there might be gaps in the foliage or between the trees
or shrubs, the hedge must still be capable of obstructing light.
There are no rules that say if the trees and shrubs are more than a
set distance apart you can't complain. However, where individual
trees or shrubs are so widely spaced that you can see what lies
behind them then it might not meet the criteria for making a
complaint.
For more information and guidance about high hedges, a leaflet
entitled "Over the Garden Hedge" is available by contacting
Planning Control on (01952) 380380 or you can
e-mail
us your request.
The council does charge a fee for this service. The fee is £250. If
you would like to download the complaint form see
Planning Forms &
Notes. |