Do I need permission to cut down or prune a tree?

Most garden trees can be pruned or removed without permission. The main exceptions are trees protected by a tree preservation order (TPO) and trees in a conservation area.

Working on a protected tree without consent is a criminal offence and can lead to a large fine, so it's always worth checking first. We check with the council before quoting any tree job.

A TPO is made by the local council to protect a specific tree, group of trees or woodland. If a tree has a TPO, you need to apply to the council for consent before cutting, lopping, topping or felling it.

Applications are free and the council usually decides within eight weeks. Dead or immediately dangerous trees have limited exemptions, but you should still tell the council, ideally in writing, before work starts.

Parts of Windsor, Eton, Datchet, Cookham, Bray and other towns are conservation areas. Here you must give the council six weeks' written notice before doing most work to a tree with a trunk over 7.5cm across (measured 1.5m above the ground).

The council then either lets the work go ahead or makes a TPO to protect the tree.

Your local council, such as Slough Borough Council, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead or Bracknell Forest Council, keeps a register of TPOs and conservation area maps. Many have an online map or will answer by email.

If you ask us for a quote, we'll do this check for you and help with the application or notice if one is needed.

Even when no permission is needed, it's illegal to disturb an active bird's nest. From March to August we check trees and hedges carefully before cutting.