Protected trees come with paperwork. We act as your agent through the whole process — TPO enquiries, applications, felling licences, surveys. You get on with your day.
Your council agent
Branchwalkers Tree Surgery acts as an agent for Tree Preservation Order enquiries and applications — helping navigate the technical aspects of tree preservation so customers can focus on their plans, not on the council inbox.
Serving Brighton, Hove, Ringmer, Lewes, Seaford, Shoreham, Henfield, Worthing and all surrounding BN postcodes.
01 — What we handle
Trees with TPOs require council approval before any work can be performed. We help customers navigate the technical aspects of tree preservation and protection — processing enquiries, preparing applications, and lodging felling licences where they are needed.
Our aim is to deliver a stress-free and efficient service from start to finish — we handle the council correspondence, and only come back to you when we need a decision made.
02 — Why use us
Dealing with council applications is time-consuming and technical. We do it every week, for Branchwalkers clients and for standalone agent work.
If you've bought a property with a TPO'd tree, inherited a Conservation Area restriction, or need a felling licence for woodland, we can take it off your plate — start to finish, or for a specific step.
Signs to watch for
A shortlist of the scenarios that bring customers to this service — if any of them look familiar, it's probably time for a conversation.
Bought a property with a Tree Preservation Order in place and you want to do anything — prune, reduce, fell. The tree can't be touched without council consent, and the application technicalities stop most owners in their tracks.
Your property sits in a Conservation Area. That means six weeks' written notice to the council before any tree work, plus a specific form of words and a plan showing the tree. We prepare and submit.
Planning application requires a tree survey — root protection areas, canopy spread, category classification — and an arboricultural impact assessment. Standard requirement for extensions, new-builds, or change-of-use on sites with trees.
Felling volume over 5m³ in a calendar quarter (or 2m³ if any is sold) triggers a Forestry Commission felling licence requirement. The application needs a detailed felling plan; we produce and submit it.
Lender or insurer asking for a tree risk report before completing. We produce a written survey to the standard they need — usually covering proximity to structure, species, condition, and recommendations.
Unauthorised tree work has triggered a council enforcement issue. We can advise on defensible position, produce retrospective paperwork where appropriate, and liaise on remedy.
What to expect
From the first phone call to the last leaf cleared — the order of operations on a typical Branchwalkers job.
Send us the tree, the address, and any council letters you've had. We'll reply same-day with a read on what's needed — TPO application, CA notice, felling licence, BS5837 survey, or a combination.
We visit, measure, identify, and document. For BS5837 work that means category classification, RPA plotting, and canopy-spread recording to the British Standard. For TPO/CA work we capture what the council will need to see — species, condition, proposed works and justification.
We prepare the full application pack: forms, site plan, photographs, tree-by-tree schedule, and the technical justification for the works. For appeals and negotiated positions we prepare supporting narratives.
We submit directly to the council (most South East authorities accept online submission). We chase on your behalf, respond to any clarification requests, and attend site with the tree officer if it helps the case.
Consent granted — we book the works in line with any conditions (timing, method, replacement planting). Refusal — we advise on appeal routes and reworked proposals. Either way, you get a clear next step.
In Sussex specifically
Tree protection density in Sussex is high, and non-uniform. Brighton & Hove: most of Regency, Kemp Town, Montpelier, West Hill, Hove's Brunswick and Cliftonville, plus Withdean are designated Conservation Areas — and a large portion of mature garden trees carry individual TPOs on top. Lewes Old Town is a Conservation Area in its entirety. Across East Sussex, villages like Ringmer, Barcombe, Plumpton, Ditchling, Burwash and Rotherfield have concentrated TPO coverage on mature specimens and woodland copses. The South Downs National Park Authority is a planning authority in its own right for much of the rural south, with its own landscape-protection priorities. Turnaround times: TPO applications typically 8 weeks from the council's acknowledgement; CA notices 6 weeks from submission; felling licences 3 months realistically from Forestry Commission receipt. We plan work around those lead times.
Frequently asked
Straight answers to the questions that come up most often on site visits. Not here? Pick up the phone — we're happy to get into the detail.
A TPO is a legal protection placed on an individual tree, a group of trees, or a woodland by the local planning authority. Once in place, the tree cannot be felled, lopped, topped, uprooted, or wilfully damaged without the council's written consent. Breach carries criminal penalties and unlimited fines. TPOs are permanent unless the council revokes them.
Your local planning authority's planning portal usually shows TPO designations on a map layer. You can also ring the council's tree officer directly — most will confirm by return. We check for every quote we give. If you've bought a property recently, the conveyancing search should have flagged it.
No work — however light — can be carried out on a TPO'd tree without written consent. That includes minor pruning, deadwooding, and even the removal of epicormic growth. You apply, you wait for the decision, and then you cut. We make this part of the service — the application fee is nominal, and we handle the form.
A TPO is a specific order on a specific tree or group. A Conservation Area is a planning designation covering a whole street or district, and it gives blanket protection to any tree over 75mm stem diameter within the area. TPOs need an application with a decision; Conservation Areas need six weeks' written notice (after which, if the council hasn't objected, you can proceed). We handle both.
Councils have eight weeks from acknowledgement to decide. In practice some decide within four to six; some use the full window. If the application is refused, there's a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, which adds months. We write applications to be decided, not appealed — good paperwork the first time pays back in timeline.
The British Standard for 'Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction'. It's the accepted format for tree surveys that accompany planning applications — every tree on or adjacent to the site categorised (A, B, C or U), root protection areas calculated and plotted, canopy spreads measured, and recommendations on what should stay and how construction should proceed. Usually a planning requirement.
We handle the whole thing as standard, including submission under your name as applicant or ours as your agent — whichever suits. The only thing we need from you is sign-off on the proposed works and access for the survey. If you want to just pay us for the survey and submit yourself, we can package it either way.
Enforcement situations are recoverable in many cases. We can advise on your position, produce a retrospective arboricultural report where that helps (e.g. demonstrating the work was necessary on safety grounds), and liaise with the tree officer. Don't do any more work and don't reply to the council without speaking to someone first — call us and we'll triage same-day.
Adjacent services
The work that often follows a successful TPO application — careful, approved reshaping.
Heavy reduction on protected trees — often the approved work once a TPO is granted.
Felling licence secured? We handle the removal — safely, with full rigging.
Verified feedback
Independently verified reviews on Checkatrade — filter by the kind of work to see how Branchwalkers handled it before.
Read client reviews
Send us the address, a photo of the tree, and any council correspondence you've had. We'll be back to you within the day with a plan and a price.
0800 567 7433Or request a quote online — replies within 48 hours