Pollards and veteran trees: what Natural England and the Forestry Commission say

This page reports what the named codes, regulators and makers say. It is not training and does not teach the work. This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The pages below apply to England; the other nations are covered on the UK council tree rules guide. The courses that teach tree work are on the certifications guide and the chainsaw tickets guide.

Ancient, veteran and pollard

The joint Natural England and Forestry Commission standing advice for planning decisions (published January 14, 2022) describes an ancient tree as exceptionally valuable, with attributes that can include great age, size, condition, biodiversity value from significant wood decay and cultural and heritage value. It says a veteran tree may not be very old but has significant decay features such as branch death and hollowing, and that all ancient trees are veteran trees but not all veteran trees are ancient. It adds that the age at which a tree becomes ancient or veteran varies by species, because each species ages at a different rate. Natural England's veteran tree leaflet carries a photo caption saying that not all veterans are pollards.

The leaflet, published under the English Nature name in 2000, says many veteran trees began as working trees, regularly lopped or pollarded to supply fuel and wood. It says they are found mostly where there was a long history of human activity: ancient deer parks, wood-pastures, wooded commons, village greens, hedgerows and riversides, and churchyards in the case of ancient yews.

Pollarding in the countryside and in towns

The Natural England handbook, Veteran Trees: A guide to good management, treats pollarding as one of the chief management techniques used on old trees. For landscape management it lists an idea to consider: pollarding, especially young trees, where there is a history of pollarding on the site or in the local area. It adds that where there is no historical reason, the historical value of the site is checked before pollarding. It also says that in an area where trees were actively managed, flat and even cuts can look in keeping, while on a site meant to look natural the handbook describes pulling or winching to make natural-looking breaks, or roughening a cut with coronet or V-shaped saw cuts.

For towns, the handbook says some street trees such as plane, lime and sycamore respond well to pollarding or heavy pruning, and that this is done for different reasons than in rural settings: to keep the tree to a manageable size. It says pollarding in any setting needs to be done by tree surgeons with proven experience of veteran trees, and that cutting the top off an oversized tree is a different thing from planned, careful pollarding. It says a single pollarding is not an adequate way to deal with a tree, and that a freshly made pollard needs cutting at fairly frequent intervals, which it says can be as short as one to two years for street trees, so the branches do not grow too big.

Lapsed pollards

The handbook says that if a gap occurs in the regime, dealing with the tree becomes substantially more difficult later, and that lapsed pollards on town streets are more likely to be felled and replaced than restored. The Natural England leaflet shows restoration pollarding of a veteran beech at Burnham Beeches in Buckinghamshire as one of its illustrations.

Threats the handbook lists in towns

The handbook lists seven threats to urban veterans: excessive safety work, trimming and tidiness; severed roots from cable trenches; road run-off polluted with salt and trace elements; hard surfaces right up to the trunk; excessive compaction round the roots; vandalism and damage; and high nutrient levels from dog excreta. It sets a minimum separation distance for excavation of 15 times the trunk diameter at breast height, which it gives as 30 metres for a trunk of 2 metres diameter.

How the standing advice treats them in planning

The standing advice says ancient woodland, ancient trees and veteran trees are irreplaceable habitats. It says a planning authority should refuse permission where development will cause their loss or deterioration unless wholly exceptional reasons exist and a suitable compensation strategy is in place. For buffer zones it gives at least 15 times the diameter of the tree for ancient and veteran trees, or 5 metres from the edge of the canopy where that is larger. The wider construction rules are on the trees and construction guide. The wildlife rules that apply to old trees with cavities and nests are on the wildlife and the law guide.