Protected trees
Tree works
Apply for works to a protected tree by starting a planning application using the Planning Portal.
You will be asked what type of permission you are applying for at step two.
As well as having a thriving urban core, Gateshead has large areas of rural countryside which makes it a very diverse borough. Trees play an important part of forming the character of both urban and rural areas.
Trees are either protected by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) or by the fact that they are in a conservation area. There are currently 22 conservation areas in Gateshead. Trees can also be protected by a planning condition on a planning permission.
A TPO means you can't
- cut down
- uproot
- top
- lop
- carry out wilful damage or destruction
of the trees without our consent.
The maximum penalty for carrying out works to TPO trees without consent is £20,000.
Trees are an important part of our landscape and environment. They take decades to mature but only minutes to remove or harm. Many parts of the borough have good tree cover but they are a finite resource and often threatened by development. New planting is essential to replace trees lost through natural decline or development.
Trees that we would not protect are those that are
- dead or dying
- diseased or dangerous
- fruit trees grown for the commercial production of fruit
The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 recognises the importance of trees to the amenity of an area. when granting planning permission, we have powers to make Tree TPOs. This is to protect trees during development and to impose conditions requiring the planting of trees.
TPO's can be made to protect trees by controlling works carried out to trees and woodlands with amenity value. They cannot be used to protect bushes or shrubs, although it can be used to protect trees in hedges.
Visit the Gov.uk website (opens new window) for further information about protected trees and for recently made or confirmed tree preservation orders.