Garden enthusiasts risk fines exceeding £20,000 for carrying out a common gardening task without knowing the rules, experts have warned. Paul Chappell, head of forestry tool supply firm DTW Tools, cautioned that innocent mistakes involving tree maintenance could lead to severe penalties.
Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) restrict any work on trees without prior consent from the local authority. Violating a TPO can result in criminal charges with potentially unlimited fines. Activities considered as 'work' include cutting, topping, lopping, uprooting, or harming a tree or its roots.
A homeowner in Canford Cliffs, Dorset, fell foul of the rules in 2019 after trimming branches from an oak tree protected under a TPO to allow sunlight to their Juliet balcony. The homeowner was fined £1,200, had an additional £21,000 seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act due to the increased property value, and was required to cover the local authority's legal costs of £15,000.
Mr Chappell explained: "It is a fineable offence to cut down, uproot and destroy any distressed or damaged tree that is subject to a TPO, in a Conservation Area or over five cubic metres in volume." He added that offenders may be fined up to £20,000, prosecuted for felling without a licence, and served a notice to replace any destroyed protected trees. Serious offences can attract unlimited fines.
LPL Property Lawyers highlighted that the individual who causes damage to a tree is held responsible for any infringement. If a property's value increases due to pruning or removal of a tree, the local council might seek financial recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
