Published June 2026 • All articles
If you own a tree and want to carry out any work on it — or remove it entirely — it pays to check first whether it is protected. Doing work on a protected tree without consent is a criminal offence in England, and the penalties can be significant.
A Tree Preservation Order (TPO) is a legal order made by a local planning authority to protect specific trees, groups of trees or woodlands. The order makes it an offence to cut down, uproot, top, lop or carry out any other work on a protected tree without first getting written consent from the council.
TPOs can be placed on any tree that the local authority considers it is expedient to protect in the interests of amenity. In practice, this tends to mean mature or visually prominent trees in residential areas, parks and open spaces.
The simplest way to check is to contact North Yorkshire Council (formerly Harrogate Borough Council for trees in the Harrogate district). The council maintains a public register of all TPOs in the area. Most councils now have an online mapping tool where you can search by postcode or address to see whether any TPOs apply to your property.
You can also ask your tree surgeon to check on your behalf — we routinely do this before recommending any felling work to customers in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon.
If your property sits within a Conservation Area, different rules apply — and this catches many people out. Even if a tree does not have a specific TPO, any tree with a trunk diameter of 75mm or more at 1.5m above ground is subject to protection in a Conservation Area.
Before carrying out any work on such a tree, you must give the local planning authority six weeks’ written notice. This gives the authority time to assess the tree and decide whether to make a TPO. If no TPO is made within those six weeks, you can proceed.
Much of central Harrogate and parts of Knaresborough fall within Conservation Areas, so this rule affects a significant number of properties.
Under a TPO, you need consent for:
You do not normally need consent for dead wood removal, or for pruning to correct a hazard that poses an immediate risk to people or property — though you should notify the council as soon as possible in such cases.
Applications for consent to carry out work on a protected tree are made to the local planning authority. For trees in Harrogate and the surrounding area, this is North Yorkshire Council. There is no fee for these applications. You will need to describe the work you propose and ideally provide a plan showing the location of the tree.
The council has eight weeks to make a decision. If consent is refused and you disagree with the decision, you can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
There are limited exemptions to TPO rules — for example, if a tree is dead, dying or dangerous, or if it is causing a statutory nuisance. Even in these cases, it is wise to get a written assessment from a qualified arboriculturist before proceeding, to demonstrate that the exemption genuinely applies.
As a general rule: if in doubt, check before you do any work. The cost of applying for consent is nil; the cost of doing unauthorised work on a protected tree can run to thousands of pounds. Our team is familiar with the local planning framework in Harrogate and North Yorkshire, and we always check for TPOs and Conservation Area status before recommending any tree removal or significant pruning work.
Not sure whether your tree is protected? Get in touch and we can check for you. Call us on 01423 860665 or submit a request online.
See also: Tree Felling & Removal | Tree Pruning | Crown Reduction
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