When there are trees on a potential development site

When a planning application is received planning officers ascertain whether any trees will be affected. If there are trees which will need to be felled or pruned for the development to take place, they will ask tree officers for an opinion on the worth of the trees. Tree officers then visit the site and decide whether or not the trees are worthy of retention. This process applies whether or not the trees are already protected by Tree Preservation Order (TPO) or by the fact that they grow in a conservation area. The tree officers will then advise their planning colleagues accordingly.

• Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs)
• Trees in conservation areas

How we use information provided by tree officers

If the trees are poor, planning permission may be approved even though it means their loss. If however the trees are good specimens and worthy of retention, the developer will be asked to amend his scheme to accommodate them. If the trees concerned are not already subject to protection the council may choose to impose a Tree Preservation Order upon them.

• Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs)

How trees on development sites can be protected

Trees can be protected by imposing a Tree Preservation Order upon them.

• Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs)

If planning officers believe that trees not worthy of Tree Preservation Order protection have some other intrinsic value to the development, they may impose a condition on the planning permission which prohibits the felling or pruning of trees without the prior written consent of the council.

Working on a protected tree which is in the way of a proposed development

Development with planning permission

You can only cut down or prune protected trees if they are directly in the way of development which is about to start, for which you have full and detailed planning permission. You cannot carry out tree work if you only have outline planning permission. You may only carry out works which are essential to enable you to fulfil your permission. The council may prosecute you if it thinks you have cut down or pruned excessively.

Developments which do not require planning permission

If the building works do not require planning permission (for example putting up a garden shed) but it is possible that some damage to protected trees may result, you will need to apply to the council for permission under Tree Preservation Order (TPO) legislation in the normal way.

• Making a tree work application

Can a Tree Preservation Order prevent development?

While a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) is a restriction on the land, it is not as powerful an instrument as a full planning permission. Thus a TPO cannot and should not be used to frustrate or prevent development. Once served, a TPO becomes 'a material factor' in assessing development proposals, but it does not normally prevent development in its own right except on very constrained sites, and a planning approval can override it.

How to object to proposed development because of its potential impact on trees

When a planning application is made for any area of land, public notices are posted in close proximity to it. Upon the notices are provided details of both the proposed development and the planning officer dealing with it, their telephone number and the address of the planning offices.

To object you should:

• Fill in Comment on a planning application
• Or write to the named officer at the address given and state clearly your objection and the reason for it.

The officer will take your objection into account when deciding the application.

The distance between proposed development and trees

There is no recommended minimum stand-off distance for proposed development near to trees. Kirklees Council looks at every circumstance on its own merits. The distance of new buildings from existing trees does not conform to any standard but depends upon a number of variables.

These include:

• tree species
• current branch spread
• potential ultimate size
• density of foliage
• the potential for root damage
• the health of the tree and its expected longevity
• the building's purpose
• the aspect of the building in relation to the tree and the terrain and topography of the land.

Planning decisions not only consider potential damage to trees but also the impact and influence they may have upon the quality of life of the eventual owner of the building.

Trees contacts

Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs), trees in conservation areas and tree work applications

Report trees causing an obstruction on pavements and footpaths, or obscuring street lighting

• Report Overhanging vegetation and/or weeds

Find out who owns trees

• Land ownership

Trees owned by the council