Do I need permission to cut down a tree in Swansea?

Published 25 October 2026

Most garden trees in Swansea can be cut down or pruned without asking anyone. But some can’t, and getting it wrong can mean a fine and having to plant a replacement. The good news is that it only takes a few checks to find out where you stand. This guide walks through them in the order we’d look at them before quoting for a job.

First, which council covers you?

Tree protection is handled by your local planning authority, so start by working out which council that is:

• Swansea Council covers the city itself plus Mumbles, Sketty, Killay, Bishopston, Gower, Morriston, Clydach, Gorseinon, Pontarddulais and Penllergaer.
• Neath Port Talbot Council covers Neath, Port Talbot and Pontardawe.
• Carmarthenshire County Council covers Llanelli and Burry Port.

Each council keeps its own records, so a check with one tells you nothing about the others.

Check 1: Is the tree covered by a Tree Preservation Order?

A Tree Preservation Order (TPO) makes it an offence to cut down, top, lop, uproot, wilfully damage or wilfully destroy the tree without the council’s consent. It can cover a single tree, a group or a whole woodland, and it covers the entire tree, including any branches hanging over your side of a fence.

How to check:

• Swansea: the council publishes a TPO map for finding protected trees, and has a TPO team you can phone on 01792 635724.
• Carmarthenshire: the council’s trees page links to a map of existing TPOs and conservation areas, and you can email planningsearches@carmarthenshire.gov.uk for a copy of an order.
• Neath Port Talbot: ask the council’s planning department. Its online planning register lists past “Works to a tree with a TPO” applications, which can show whether trees near you have been protected before.

If you’re buying a house, the local land charges search should also show any TPO.

If the tree is protected, you (or a tree surgeon acting for you) apply for consent. There’s no fee, the council can take up to eight weeks to decide, and consent lasts two years.

Check 2: Are you in a conservation area?

Trees in conservation areas are protected even if they have no TPO. Swansea alone has 31 conservation areas, including Mumbles, Bishopston, Langland Bay, Morriston, Ffynone and Uplands, and a string of Gower villages such as Rhossili, Port Eynon, Reynoldston, Llanmadoc and Llangennith.

In a conservation area you must give the council six weeks’ written notice before cutting down or pruning a tree. This is sometimes called a Section 211 notice. The council can’t refuse it, but it can use those six weeks to put a TPO on the tree. Once the six weeks are up without a TPO, you can go ahead, and the notice covers the work for two years.

Small trees are exempt: you don’t need to give notice for a tree less than 7.5cm in diameter, measured 1.5 metres above the ground (10cm if you’re thinning trees to help others grow).

Check 3: Was the tree protected when the house was built?

On newer estates, trees are sometimes protected by a condition on the original planning permission rather than a TPO. Planning Portal Wales advises checking with your council if full planning permission has been granted on your property, as you may need to apply or give notice before working on trees. If your house was built in the last few years and kept mature trees, it’s worth asking.

Check 4: Do you need a felling licence from Natural Resources Wales?

In Wales, felling licences come from Natural Resources Wales (NRW), not the Forestry Commission. Homeowners rarely need one, because trees in gardens are exempt. So are orchards, churchyards and public open spaces. Outside those, you can still fell up to five cubic metres of timber in a calendar quarter without a licence, and pruning, crown reduction and crown lifting never need one.

Where a licence can come into play is on larger plots: a paddock, a field boundary or a strip of woodland on a farm or smallholding. If you’re felling more than five cubic metres outside a garden, check with NRW first. Our guide to felling licences in Wales has the details.

Check 5: Is anything living in it?

Even when no permission is needed, wildlife law still applies. NRW notes that the law protects all wild birds, their active nests and their eggs, so cutting down a tree with a nest in use can be an offence. Bats are also protected, and some roost in older trees with cavities or loose bark. If you’re planning felling or heavy pruning, autumn and winter avoid most of the nesting season, and it’s worth having the tree checked for nests and signs of bats before work starts.

What about Gower’s National Landscape status?

Gower was the first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the UK, designated in 1956, and is now known as the Gower National Landscape. The designation protects the landscape as a whole, but it doesn’t put a TPO on your garden trees. What matters is checks 1 to 5 above. Many Gower villages are conservation areas, so check 2 is the one most likely to catch you out. Our guide to tree work on Gower goes into more detail.

Dead and dangerous trees

The Welsh Government’s guide to protected trees says you don’t need consent to cut down a protected tree that is dying, dead or dangerous. However, it advises giving the council at least five days’ notice first, except in a real emergency, and the council may still ask for a replacement tree. Keep photos and, ideally, a tree surgeon’s written opinion, in case the council later asks why the tree was removed.

What happens if you get it wrong?

According to the Welsh Government guide, deliberately destroying a protected tree can mean a fine of up to £20,000 in the magistrates’ court, and other offences up to £2,500. You will normally have to plant a replacement as well. Not giving notice in a conservation area carries similar penalties.

How we help

When our teams quote for a job, we check whether the tree is likely to be protected and tell you before any work is booked. If consent or a conservation area notice is needed, we can write the specification for the application and wait for the decision or the six-week period before starting. See our protected trees (TPO) service for how that works, or our tree removal and felling service if no permission is needed. Get a free quote.