Tree Preservation Orders are an effective means of protecting individual trees, groups of trees or woodlands whose removal would have significant impact on the public amenity of an area.

These orders form a legal constraint permanently attached to the title of the land where the trees are located.

Permission is required from the Council as planning authority for the felling or any limbing of trees that are within a Conservation Area or that are covered by a Tree Preservation Order. Application forms for works to these protected trees are available from the relevant Local Area Planning Offices.

In addition, conditions are sometimes attached to planning permissions to protect trees. These conditions normally require that trees must not be removed or limbed without consent of the Council as planning authority. Applications for work on trees protected by a condition of planning consent should be made in writing to the relevant Local Area Planning Offices.

Contact the relevant Local Area Planning Office to find out if trees are protected by a Tree Preservation Order, located within a Conservation Area, or by a condition of any planning permission.

It is important to note that any tree felling that is proposed outside a garden and that will involve removal of over 5 cubic metres of timber is likely to require a Felling Licence from Forestry Commission Scotland.