Tree rules in Harrow: preservation orders and conservation areas

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It describes three Harrow Council pages as read on October 8, 2026: the trees overview, tree preservation orders and report a tree issue. 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 Harrow's pages add, and its stated response times are the council's own wording of its service.

Applying to work on a protected tree

Harrow's TPO page says a tree is protected either by an order or by standing in a conservation area, and points to TPO and conservation area maps. It says a resident hiring a tree surgeon usually has the surgeon apply. The application is one form for both kinds of protection, with a clear and detailed specification of the work that the page says should ideally come from a tree surgeon or arborist and follow BS 3998, the 2010 recommendations for tree work. It goes by email to the planning applications team or through the Planning Portal, which needs an account. The page states a response within six weeks for TPO works and eight weeks for tree works in conservation areas. It also states that a copy of an order is requested online and costs £40.00 before the document is supplied.

Storm damage, dead wood and new orders

For storm damage, the page says a tree can be made safe with only the minimum necessary work, that non-urgent or remedial work goes through the usual application or notification, and that the council is told as soon as possible, which it describes as the contractor's "5 day notice". It says dead branches can be removed from a living protected tree without notifying the council, and that the lower part of the trunk of a dead tree can be kept for wildlife where it is not a danger. A request to protect a tree goes to a TPO mailbox with details, location and any threat. The page says the council visits, prepares an assessment and answers within 20 working days, and that trees with a life expectancy under 20 years are unlikely to suit an order.

Questions the council answers

The page carries a set of answers. A TPO can cover any species including hedgerow trees, but hedges, bushes and shrubs are exempt. An insurance company letter does not remove the need for written permission. Dropping leaves, fruit or sap is described as natural and not normally a legal nuisance, and the page says there is no general right to light in English law apart from high hedge complaints. For suspected root damage it says the insurer investigates, live roots must be found below the foundations, and crack and level monitoring for at least six months must show cyclical movement. Overhanging branches cannot be cut back to the boundary where the tree is protected without written consent. An order does not make the council the owner or responsible for maintenance costs. Working on a protected tree without permission can bring a fine of up to £20,000 in court for the owner and the tree surgeon, per the page. An appeal against a refusal or conditions goes to the Planning Inspectorate within 28 days of the decision, or after eight weeks without one.

Council trees

The overview page says the council manages trees on streets, paths, parks, open spaces, allotments, woodlands and cemeteries, but not trees on private or unregistered land or in council tenants' gardens. It lists when it prunes council trees, for example when a tree blocks a highway, footpath or right of way, touches a building or its roof, interferes with street lights or signs, or has dead, diseased or damaged branches. It lists what it does not prune for: sightlines alone, honeydew, bird fouling, satellite or TV signal, overhanging a property, squirrel access, falling leaves or fruit, and household insurance cost. The report page says fallen trees on highways or in high-risk areas are treated as emergencies around the clock, and splits enquiries into a protected tree team address for private land and conservation areas and a separate public tree enquiries address.