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Residential tree work

Work on Protected Trees in Swansea

How Tree Preservation Orders and conservation areas work in Wales, and qualified teams to carry out the work once it’s approved.

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Is Your Tree Protected?

Swansea Tree Surgeons arranges protected trees (tpo) across Swansea, Gower and the surrounding towns, carried out by NPTC-qualified, fully insured tree surgery teams.

Councils protect individual trees, groups and woodlands with Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs), and trees in conservation areas are protected too. Swansea has 31 conservation areas, including Mumbles, Langland Bay, Bishopston, Morriston, Ffynone and Uplands, and Gower villages such as Reynoldston, Port Eynon and Rhossili. The area we cover also takes in Neath Port Talbot (Neath, Port Talbot, Pontardawe) and Carmarthenshire (Llanelli, Burry Port), and each council keeps its own records.

Working on a protected tree without consent, or without giving notice in a conservation area, is a criminal offence. The council can prosecute and can require a replacement tree to be planted. If we think a tree might be covered, we’ll tell you when we quote.

How Consent Works in Wales

For a TPO tree, the owner or someone acting for them applies to the local planning authority, describing exactly what work is proposed. There’s no fee, the council has up to eight weeks to decide, and consent lasts two years. For a conservation area tree without a TPO, you give at least six weeks’ notice instead. A notice can’t be refused: the council either lets the work go ahead or protects the tree with a TPO. Both can be made through the Planning Portal’s Wales service.

A precise specification, such as “reduce crown by 2 metres, cutting to suitable growth points, to BS 3998”, makes the application clear. We’ll write one for you to use, and once consent is granted, or the six weeks have passed, our teams carry out exactly what was approved and nothing more.

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Protected Trees (TPO) by a qualified tree surgery team

Good to Know Before You Book

Dead or dangerous trees
Consent isn’t needed for a tree that is dead or has become dangerous, but you must be ready to prove it. Speak to the council first and photograph everything.
Gower National Landscape
Gower was the UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, now called a National Landscape. The designation doesn’t protect garden trees by itself, but many Gower villages are conservation areas, which does.
Bigger felling jobs
Felling a lot of timber outside a garden can need a felling licence from Natural Resources Wales. Ordinary garden trees are normally exempt.

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Good to know

Protected Trees (TPO): Common Questions

How do I check if my tree is protected?

Contact the planning department at Swansea Council, Neath Port Talbot or Carmarthenshire, depending on where you live. Swansea Council publishes maps of its conservation areas online. Trees on newer estates can also be protected by a condition on the original planning permission.

Who applies for consent, me or the tree surgeon?

The owner or someone acting for them can apply. We’ll give you a clear written specification of the work to use in the application, and we won’t start until consent is granted or the six-week notice period has passed.

How long does consent last?

In Wales, TPO consent lasts two years from approval, and a conservation area notice covers work carried out within two years of the notice. After that you need to apply or give notice again.

Can I cut back branches from a neighbour’s protected tree?

Not without consent. The protection applies to the whole tree, including branches hanging over your side of the boundary, so the same application or notice is needed first.