A tree survey for your planning application, £445 fixed
A protected oak next door or a lime in the front garden can decide where you can build. Our partner arboriculturist surveys the trees, records their size and condition and reports on how your scheme affects them: £445.
- £445 fixed, partner arboriculturist
- Trees recorded and reported on
- Free redraws until approval
What does a tree survey cost?
The fee is £445, with no VAT to add and no extra survey fee. The survey is carried out by an arboriculturist working with us, who records each relevant tree and reports on its condition and on the effect of your plan. We plot the result on the drawings, so the council sees the trees and the building together.
This report is written up in full on our sister site propertyarchitecture.co.uk. Our fixed fee below still applies if you order through us. Read it on propertyarchitecture.co.uk.
What the £445 covers
- A visit by the arboriculturist to record the trees on your site and those beside it that affect it
- For each tree: species, size, condition and likely life, in a schedule
- A plan showing where every tree stands, with the area around it that needs protection
- A short report on how your proposal affects the trees, and what to do to keep them healthy through the build
- The result plotted on the planning drawings, with replies to the council’s tree officer
Do I need a tree survey?
If a tree could be affected by what you plan, a council will want to know how. Trees on your plot, trees on the other side of the fence and street trees all count. A tree preservation order can cover any tree, of any size or species (gov.uk), and in a conservation area unprotected trees still need six weeks’ notice before certain work (section 211).
Many councils ask for a tree survey on their validation list when a scheme is near a tree. We check your council’s list before you apply.
How trees change where you can build
Roots run under the ground, and cutting them needs consent where the tree is protected (gov.uk). A new foundation or trench near a tree can cut them. The survey fixes the protection area on the drawing, so the design can keep out of it.
It also stops you buying trouble. A plot with a protected tree in the wrong place is hard to build on, and it is cheaper to know before you apply.
- Trees on the site and next to it
- A protected area around each trunk, on the plan
- What your building and your builder’s access do to it
- What protection to put up before work starts
What if the tree has to go?
That is a separate application, and the council may grant it, refuse it or ask for a replacement. A tree removed in breach has to be replaced, and the duty goes to the next owner (gov.uk). The survey helps here too: it records why the tree is a problem. For the building work, see planning drawings and discharge of conditions, where a tree protection condition is common.
What protects a tree
- Any size
- A tree preservation order can cover individual trees, groups, areas or woodlands, of any size or species. gov.uk, Tree preservation orders and trees in conservation areas
- Roots
- The government’s view is that cutting roots also needs consent where a tree is protected. gov.uk, Tree preservation orders and trees in conservation areas
- 6 weeks
- In a conservation area, a tree without an order is still protected: the council must be given notice six weeks before certain works. gov.uk, Tree preservation orders and trees in conservation areas
- 2 years
- If the council does not make an order, the work may be done within two years of the notice. Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s.211(3)
- Offence
- Doing an act that an order could prohibit to a tree in a conservation area, without notice or consent, is an offence. Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s.211(1)
- Replacement
- If a tree is removed in breach, the landowner must plant another of an appropriate size and species nearby, and the duty passes to later owners. gov.uk, Tree preservation orders and trees in conservation areas
- Incomplete
- The national tree preservation zone dataset warns that it may be incomplete and not yet cover all of England. planning.data.gov.uk, Tree preservation zone
Tree survey questions
How do I know if a tree is protected?
Ask the council, which holds the orders. The national dataset is incomplete, so we check with the council as well.
Can I cut back a tree in a conservation area?
Not without notice. You must give the council six weeks’ notice before certain works, and doing them without notice is an offence.
Who does the survey?
Our partner arboriculturist, who is the specialist. We coordinate and plot the result on the drawings.
Is my neighbour’s tree my problem?
It can be. A tree next door can limit what you build near it, so the survey records trees beside the site that affect it.
Does £445 cover removing a tree?
No. Removal needs consent from the council, and the works themselves are separate.
Other services people book with this one
Trees on or beside your plot?
Send the address and the project. We tell you whether a survey is needed and reply with a fixed fee.