TPO & Conservation Area Applications · Bedford & Bedfordshire
Protected Trees.
Council Applications
Handled For You.
Tree Preservation Orders and conservation areas catch a lot of people out. We check whether your tree is protected, prepare and submit the council application on your behalf for a small fee, and carry out the approved work once consent comes through.
Free Estimates · Mon–Fri 8–5 · Emergency Call-Outs
Service Overview
TPO & Conservation Area Applications —
In Plain English.
What It Is
A Tree Preservation Order (TPO) is a legal order made by a local planning authority that makes it an offence to cut down, top, lop, uproot, wilfully damage or wilfully destroy a tree without written consent. Separately, almost every tree over 75mm in diameter within a conservation area is protected by default, and the council must be given six weeks' written notice before work starts. We handle both processes end to end — checking status, writing the specification, submitting the application, and carrying out the approved work.
Who It's For
Homeowners in Bedford's conservation areas and the surrounding villages, anyone who has been told their tree 'has a TPO on it', landlords and estate agents preparing a property for sale, and developers who need tree work signed off before groundworks.
When You Need It
Before any work starts. Check first — the offence is committed the moment the saw goes in, not when the council finds out. Allow around eight weeks for a TPO decision and six weeks for a conservation-area notice.
Why It Matters
Unauthorised work on a protected tree is a criminal offence. In serious cases the fine is unlimited, and the council can require a replacement tree to be planted at your expense. A properly written application, with the right British Standard terminology and a clear reason, is also far more likely to be approved.
What Happens If You Wait
The Cost Of
Doing Nothing.
Most people find out their tree is protected after they've booked the work in — or worse, after it's been done. The paperwork isn't difficult, but it does have to be right, and 'the neighbour said it was fine' is not a defence.
Risks Of Ignoring It
- →Unlimited fines on conviction for cutting down or destroying a protected tree.
- →Enforcement notices requiring a replacement tree of the council's choosing, at your cost.
- →Applications refused because the specification is vague — 'cut it back a bit' gets rejected; '2m crown reduction to BS3998' does not.
- →Contractors carrying out unauthorised work and leaving the liability with you, the landowner.
- →Delays to a house sale or build programme when the tree work turns out to need consent nobody applied for.
Common Mistakes Customers Make
- ×Assuming a tree isn't protected because it's in your own garden.
- ×Believing a conservation-area tree needs no permission — it needs six weeks' written notice.
- ×Applying to 'top' a tree, which councils almost always refuse and which damages the tree anyway.
- ×Starting work as soon as the application is submitted rather than waiting for the decision or the notice period to expire.
Our Process
First Call To
Site Tidied.
01
Free Estimate
Phone, email or web form — we'll get back within working hours.
02
Site Visit
We come out, assess the trees and send a written quote, normally within 24 hours.
03
Schedule
Booked at a time that suits you. Phone answered out of hours for storm damage.
04
Carry Out Work
Friendly, careful, considerate crew on site.
05
Site Tidy
All by-product cleared, recycled into biomass or seasoned firewood.
Why It's Worth It
What You
Actually Get.
We Check The Status First
Before quoting we check with the local planning authority whether the tree is subject to a TPO or sits within a conservation area — so there are no surprises.
Application Written Properly
Specified in BS3998 terms with a clear arboricultural justification, photographs and a location plan — the things councils actually want to see.
Fee Deducted From Your Bill
We handle the application for a small fee, which comes off your invoice if you go ahead with the work.
Approved Work, Carried Out Properly
Once consent is granted we carry out the work exactly as specified by NPTC-qualified climbers, and keep a record for your file.
In Detail
TPO & Conservation Area Applications —
Every Variation.
Working across
Bedford · Milton Keynes · Luton · Northampton · Cambridge · Stevenage
Full Service AreasHow To Find Out If Your Tree Is Protected
Most councils publish a TPO map or searchable register online, and conservation-area boundaries are shown on the local plan. Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes City, Luton, North Northamptonshire and the Cambridgeshire districts all hold their own registers. If you'd rather not wade through it, we'll check for you as part of quoting.
What A TPO Actually Covers
A TPO can protect an individual tree, a group, an area, or a whole woodland. It covers cutting down, topping, lopping, uprooting, and any wilful damage or destruction — including root severance during building works. It does not stop sensible management; it stops unauthorised management.
Conservation Areas Are Different
In a conservation area you don't apply for consent — you give the council a Section 211 notice describing the proposed work. The council then has six weeks either to raise no objection, or to make a TPO to protect the tree. If nothing is heard within six weeks, the work may proceed, and the permission lasts two years.
The Exemptions
Dead trees, and work needed urgently to remove an immediate risk of serious harm, are exempt — but you must still notify the council, and for dead trees five working days' notice is required except in an emergency. Fruit trees grown commercially and certain statutory works are also exempt. Exemptions are narrow, and the burden of proof sits with whoever did the work, so we photograph everything.
What We Put In An Application
A site plan showing the tree, clear photographs, the species, the precise specification in BS3998 terms (for example 'crown reduction of 2m to all round, shaping to a natural outline'), and the arboricultural reason — deadwood, damage, encroachment, disease, or excessive shading with evidence.
Timescales You Should Plan For
A TPO application decision normally takes about eight weeks from validation. A conservation-area notice takes six weeks. Consent, once granted, usually lasts two years. Build this into any sale, extension or landscaping programme rather than discovering it late.
If The Council Refuses
You have a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate within 28 days. In practice, a refusal is often a sign the specification asked for too much — a revised, lighter application with a stronger justification frequently succeeds where the first one didn't.
Trees And Building Work
If you're extending, the council may attach conditions requiring tree protection fencing to BS5837 and no-dig construction inside the root protection area. Severing roots on a protected tree during groundworks is treated as wilful damage.
High Hedges And Boundary Trees
Protected-tree rules are separate from the high hedges provisions of the Anti-social Behaviour Act. You are entitled to cut back growth overhanging your boundary to the property line — but not if the tree is protected, in which case consent or notice is still required first.
How do I know if my tree has a TPO?
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Your local planning authority holds the register — Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes City, Luton, North Northamptonshire and the Cambridgeshire districts all publish TPO information online, usually on a map. You can also phone the council's tree officer. We check the status for you before quoting, so you don't have to.
Do you charge to submit the application?
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We handle TPO and conservation-area applications for a small fee. If you go ahead with the work, that fee is deducted from your bill. The council itself does not charge for a tree works application.
How long does it take to get permission?
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Roughly eight weeks for a decision on a TPO application, and six weeks for a conservation-area notice — after which, if the council hasn't objected, the work can go ahead. Consent usually remains valid for two years, so it's worth applying early even if you're not ready to book the work.
What happens if work is done without consent?
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It's a criminal offence. For cutting down or destroying a protected tree the fine on conviction is unlimited, and the council can also serve a notice requiring you to plant a replacement. Liability sits with the landowner as well as the contractor, which is why we won't start on a protected tree without the paperwork in place.
My tree is dead or dangerous — do I still need permission?
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Dead trees, and work strictly necessary to remove an immediate risk of serious harm, are exempt from the consent requirement, but the council must still be notified — five working days beforehand for a dead tree, or as soon as practicable afterwards in a genuine emergency. We photograph the defect before and during the work so the exemption can be evidenced.
Can I cut back branches overhanging from next door?
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Ordinarily yes, back to the boundary line, and you should offer the cuttings back to the owner. If the tree is protected by a TPO or sits in a conservation area, you still need consent or must give notice first, even though the branches are over your garden.
Will the council let me have the tree removed?
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Councils protect trees for their amenity value, so outright removal is only granted where there's a sound arboricultural reason — the tree is dead, dying, dangerous, diseased, or causing significant damage. Sensible management such as a crown reduction, thinning or crown lifting is approved far more often, and usually solves the underlying problem.
Next Step
Protected Tree? Let Us Handle The Paperwork.
Free written estimates, normally back within 24 hours. Fully insured (£5m PL), NPTC qualified, all by-product recycled.
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