Applying for permission to prune a tree in a Gravesend conservation area: the notice to Gravesham, step by step.
Most people call it a conservation area permit. The paperwork is a notice, not an application for consent: you give Gravesham Borough Council six weeks' notice of work to a tree, it costs nothing, and the council either lets the six weeks pass or makes a Tree Preservation Order. This is the process I follow for Gravesend and Northfleet gardens, with the council's own links.
The rules
Trees in a conservation area that are not already covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) are protected by section 211 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. You must give the local planning authority, here Gravesham Borough Council, at least six weeks' notice before cutting down, topping, lopping or uprooting a tree, or wilfully damaging or destroying it. The test in Gravesham's own words is a trunk diameter of more than 75mm measured 1.5m above ground. There is no fee. The council can respond by making a TPO, by telling you it will not, or by letting the six weeks run out, after which you have two years from the date of the notice to do the work.
Doing the work without notice is a criminal offence. The government's guidance gives a fine of up to £20,000 in the magistrates' court and an unlimited fine in serious Crown Court cases, and the owner must plant a replacement tree if one is removed. The full guidance is on GOV.UK: Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas.
Does this mean every hedge trim needs notice?
No. A hedge itself is generally not a "tree" for this purpose, so clipping privet, laurel or leylandii as a hedge does not need a notice. It bites on trees standing in or beside a hedge that meet the size test. The Hedgerow Regulations 1997 are a separate regime for removing countryside hedgerows, covered in their own guide.
Which trees need notice?
Any species counts, native or non-native, evergreen or deciduous. A leylandii, laurel, hornbeam, beech, field maple or ash growing in or beside a hedge is a tree once the trunk passes the limit. Here is the checklist I use on site.
| Situation | Notice to Gravesham needed? |
|---|---|
| Trunk over 75mm across at 1.5m above ground | Yes, six weeks before cutting down, topping, lopping or uprooting |
| Trunk 75mm or under | No |
| Cutting down or uprooting a tree of 100mm or under, only to improve the growth of other trees (thinning) | No. The 100mm figure covers this case only |
| Several stems at 1.5m | Each stem is measured over its bark. If any one stem is over the limit, the small-tree exemption does not apply |
| Clipped hedge plants with thin stems (privet, laurel, box, yew) | Normally no: they are shrubs in a hedge. If a stem is thick, ask the council |
| Fruit trees cultivated for fruit, pruned in line with good horticultural practice | No for that pruning |
| Dead tree | 5 working days' written notice before the work, with evidence, not six weeks (Gravesham asks for this by email and its page says "five days"; the Regulations say working days) |
| Immediate risk of serious harm | No advance consent. Tell the council first if you can, or as soon as possible afterwards |
| Tree covered by a TPO | Different route: written consent from the council is needed |
| Work required by an Act of Parliament, a full planning permission or a felling licence | Exempt, but confirm with the council before relying on it |
How to measure. Wrap a tape round the trunk at 1.5m above the ground, over the bark, and divide the reading by 3.14. A 75mm diameter is about 23.6cm round, and 100mm is about 31.4cm.
Worked example. A row of leylandii at the back of a Pelham Road garden has been left to grow into trees. The tape reads 38cm round at 1.5m. 38 divided by 3.14 is 12.1cm, so 121mm, well over 75mm. Reducing that row needs a notice. The privet clipped along the front boundary, with stems of 25mm or so, needs nothing.
What counts as the work. Cutting down, topping, lopping, uprooting, and wilful damage or destruction. Light trimming of the hedge plants themselves normally does not count.
Step 1: check whether your address is in a conservation area
Gravesham has 23 conservation areas, 11 of them rural. In and around Gravesend and Northfleet the council lists, among others, Riverside, High Street and Queen Street, King Street, Harmer Street, Milton Place, Upper Windmill Street, Windmill Hill, Darnley Road, Pelham Road and The Avenue, Lansdowne Square, Overcliffe and The Hill in Northfleet. Further out it lists Higham, Shorne, Cobham and Meopham. Names as on the council's conservation area appraisals page.
Use the council's interactive conservation area map and find your street. The overview is on its conservation areas page, and downloadable maps are here. If the boundary line is too close to call, ask the council before you cut.
Step 2: check it is a tree, and whether it has a TPO
Do the size test above. Then check for a TPO: the council's protected trees and woodland page links an interactive TPO map, and for anything unclear it asks you to email planning.admin@gravesham.gov.uk. A TPO overrides the conservation-area rules, and then you need the council's written consent rather than a notice.
Step 3: decide the work, and photograph it
Say exactly what you want: "reduce the height of the leylandii row by up to 2m and the sides by up to 0.5m, no removal", not "tidy the trees". Photograph the whole row, a close-up of a trunk with the tape on at 1.5m, and where the trees stand against the boundary and neighbouring buildings.
Step 4: gather what the council needs
A section 211 notice can be in any form, but it must describe the work, identify each tree and carry the date. If there are several trees, say what happens to which. The Planning Portal also asks for a sketch map (not to scale, but showing the trees against boundaries, buildings and roads), the tree type and condition, and your interest in the tree. Gravesham points to guidance notes for the form.
Step 5: submit the notice
No fee is charged. Gravesham's page says to complete the standard form and links the tree works form (the same form serves TPO applications and conservation-area notices). It is a printable PDF, and the form itself points to the Planning Portal for the online version: the notification of proposed works to trees in conservation areas. The council's page does not say where a completed paper form should be sent, so use the Planning Portal route, or email planning.admin@gravesham.gov.uk and ask how they want it. Note the date and keep proof, because the six weeks run from it.
Step 6: the six-week wait
Gravesham can make a TPO, confirm the work can go ahead, or say nothing and let the six weeks lapse. It cannot refuse a notice or add conditions, because a section 211 notice is not an application for consent. If it makes a TPO, you would apply for consent under the Order instead.
Step 7: after the notice
Nesting birds still apply
Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to intentionally damage or destroy an active wild bird's nest. Between 1 March and 31 August I check every tree and hedge before cutting, whatever the council has said. Our nesting-season guide has the detail.
- The 2-year window. Do the work within 2 years of the notice date, and only what the notice described.
- Use a competent, insured contractor. The Planning Portal notes councils usually expect work to BS 3998.
- Keep the paperwork: notice, photos, the council's reply.
Step 8: dead, dangerous and emergency trees
If a tree is dead but not immediately dangerous, Gravesham asks for five days' written notice by email to planning.admin@gravesham.gov.uk (the government's guidance says 5 working days in one place, so allow that). If a tree or branch is causing immediate danger and work is urgent, the council says you do not need prior written permission to make it safe, but you should email first, or as soon as possible afterwards if there is no time. Be ready to prove the danger with photographs or a qualified tree specialist's opinion. If the tree is removed as dead or dangerous, the owner has a duty to replant.
What to write in the notice: a Gravesend example
Sample wording for the leylandii row above
"Notice of intended works to trees in the Pelham Road and The Avenue Conservation Area (Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 211). Site: [house number, street, DA11 or DA12 postcode]. Row of six leylandii along the rear boundary, each about 120mm diameter at 1.5m, shown on the attached sketch and photographs. Proposed work: reduce height by up to 2m and reduce the sides by up to 0.5m, no removal. Reason: the row has outgrown the boundary and is blocking light to the garden. Date sent: [date]. Applicant: [name, address, phone, email]."
Related guides
Not sure which trees in your hedge need a notice?
Send a photo and your postcode to hello@gravesendhedges.co.uk or call/WhatsApp 07763 100 477. I will look at the hedge, tell you which trees would need notice and which would not, help you put the notice together, and do the pruning or reduction once the notice period has passed. I do not remove hedges or grind stumps.
Sources: Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 211; GOV.UK, "Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas"; Planning Portal, "Works to Trees"; Gravesham Borough Council pages on protected trees and woodland and on conservation areas; Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 1.