Tree rules in Islington: preservation orders and conservation areas
What the London Borough of Islington's own pages say about protected trees, how a TPO tree work application and a conservation area notice run, how often the council inspects its trees, and the written tree policy it applies to its own stock.
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 Islington Council pages as read on October 8, 2026: protected trees, pruning and planting, and the tree policy. 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 Islington's pages add.
Looking up a protected tree
The protected trees page says there are two kinds of protection in the borough: individual trees or groups with a tree preservation order, and trees in a conservation area. To look one up, the page points to the council's interactive map. On the map the menu item is Planning and environment, then trees, with boxes for all trees and for trees with preservation orders. The page says to zoom in if the boxes cannot be ticked. The map shows the TPO reference number and a copy of the order. A person who thinks an unprotected tree should be protected can send a request through a form linked from the page. A protected tree being cut or damaged without permission is reported on the council's main number, 020 7527 2000.
Work on a TPO tree
For a tree with an order, the page says the application form is on the planning portal and that the reasons for the work and a contact number for access must be given. The council says it acknowledges an application within 14 days, assesses it and replies within eight weeks, usually quicker. A tree officer may visit and may talk through alternative work. The page says a council decision is needed before any pruning starts, and that if no decision arrives in eight weeks there is a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. A paper form can be sent to the planning team if the online form cannot be used. The page carries a last-updated date of March 14, 2022.
Conservation area notices
For a tree in a conservation area the page says formal notification goes to the council at least six weeks before the work. The list of what the notice needs is specific: the address of the tree, the owner's phone and email where there is one, the details of the applicant if different, a clear specification of the works, why they are needed, a plan showing the house and a feature that identifies the tree, photographs and any supporting reports. The page says the council has six weeks to object and that the only formal way to object is to make a TPO. It adds that if no decision comes within six weeks the notified work can be carried out, and that if an order is made, consent must be applied for before any work.
How the council looks after its own trees
The pruning and planting page says street trees, trees in communal areas on housing estates and trees in parks are each inspected every three years, with inspection schedules published by ward and by street. It gives a planting season of November to March and says most felling takes place in the autumn programme. It says trees are removed only when dead, dying, diseased or proven to cause subsidence, that a sign giving at least a week's notice goes on a tree felled outside the autumn programme, and that a tree can be removed without notice for public safety. The page also says the owner of a tree on private land is responsible for its health, inspection and any work.
The tree policy page numbers its statements. Statement 5 says the council maintains its trees to BS 3998, and statement 6 sets highway trees on at least a three year cycle. Statement 7 applies the Department for Transport guidance on highway works near trees. Statement 9 says the council will seek compensation for significant damage to a council tree, valued with CAVAT. Statement 10 requires construction sites to follow BS 5837. Statement 15 lists reasons that do not count as grounds for council pruning or removal: satellite or TV reception, excessive leaf fall, a tree seen as too large, loss of view, mess from insects or birds, fruit, pollen, and a healthy mature tree being removed to make planting space.