Tree rules in Greenwich: preservation orders and conservation areas
What the Royal Borough of Greenwich's own pages say about works to trees, its published list of about 500 preservation orders, the six week conservation area notice, the felling notice it attaches to council trees, and how many street trees it manages.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It describes three Royal Borough of Greenwich pages as read on October 8, 2026: works to trees, removing a tree, and tree maintenance and management. The national rules, including the time limits in the England regulations, are on the guide to checking tree rules with UK councils. This page covers only what Greenwich's pages add.
When special permission is needed
The works to trees page, on the planning side of the site, says work needs special permission if the tree is in a conservation area, has a tree preservation order, or has a planning condition that protects it. It also says the council has a role protecting trees in residential gardens and on development sites. The page links council guidance on orders and on conservation areas.
Conservation area notices
For a conservation area the page says formal notice goes to the council at least six weeks before the work, through the Planning Portal. It lists what the notice needs: the tree's address, the owner's phone and email where there is one, the applicant's details if different, a clear specification of the works, why they are needed, a site plan and notable features that identify the tree, photographs, and any supporting reports. The council says it has six weeks to object, that a formal objection can only be made by making an order on the tree, and that it often talks through alternatives when it disagrees. If no decision comes within six weeks of the notice, the page says the notified work can go ahead, and if an order is set, a consent application is needed first, with a right to object explained on the decision notice.
Orders
The page says an order makes it an offence to cut down, top, lop, uproot, damage or destroy a tree without permission, and states a fine of £20,000 for destroying a tree with an order. This is the part particular to this borough: it says there are about 500 orders in the Royal Borough and offers a downloadable list of them as a PDF of about 800KB. Applications for work on an order tree also go through the Planning Portal. The council says it acknowledges within 10 days, makes an assessment and replies within eight weeks, often sooner, and that a tree officer may visit and discuss alternatives. The page states that a decision is needed before pruning starts and that, after eight weeks without one, the case officer is the contact, using the application number from the acknowledgement letter.
Council trees
The tree maintenance page says the council manages around 14,500 street trees. It also runs a limited quota of paid new street trees: the council chooses the tree and location, keeps ownership and carries responsibility, and planting runs from November to March. The removing a tree page says a council tree may be removed if it is unsafe and a serious risk to the public or property, or dying or diseased. It says a Tree Felling Notice is attached to the tree in advance. The notice states why the tree is being removed, where it is and its species, the planned start date and length of work, the tree reference number, whether an assessment has been done, whether the tree has an order and its number, whether it is in a conservation area, whether there was public consultation, and whether a replacement is planned.