FAQs

A TPO is a legal order made by a local planning authority to protect specific trees, groups of trees or woodlands from being cut down, uprooted, wilfully damaged, or destroyed without the authority's prior consent. 

Under the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 Section 198 and Section 201 and the Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) (England) Regulations 2012, local planning authorities have the power to make TPOs to protect trees in the interests of amenity. 

These regulations establish a unified system for all TPOs in England. They set out the procedures for making, serving, and confirming TPOs, as well as requirements for making applications to carry out works to protected trees. The regulations also define exemptions (such as works to remove immediate risk of serious harm) and give authorities powers to require replacement planting where necessary.

The Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) (England) Regulations 2012 consolidate procedural rules for making, confirming, varying or revoking TPOs.

For the initial assessment, the LPA undertakes an evaluation assessing tree condition, public visibility, retention longevity and expediency. Where a tree merits protection when considered against these criteria, the LPA prepares a provisional TPO. In accordance with Regulation 4 of the Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) (England) Regulations 2012, the Order takes effect provisionally for six months from the date on which it is made. 

The authority issues a provisional TPO notice to the persons interested in the land affected by the Order. Interested parties are also notified of the public consultation, inviting representations via the LPA’s website and making paper copies available in offices. The public consultation will align with OPDC’s community engagement responsibilities set out in OPDC’s Statement of Community Involvement. 

These representations must be taken into account when deciding whether to confirm, modify or not confirm the TPO. At this stage, further advice may be sought from arboriculture experts. Representations will be summarised with officer responses and made available on the LPA website prior to confirmation.

Following consultation, the LPA may confirm, modify or refuse to confirm the TPO, issuing a confirmation notice with reasons. Confirmation may proceed with or without modifications. The authority will notify the persons interested in the land affected by the Order of the confirmation. Final confirmation gives the Order statutory permanence. 

The subject site is located at 2-20 Western Rd, Park Royal, NW10 7LW. The site is not within a designated conservation area. The site is subject to Local Plan Site Allocation 8 (Park Royal ASDA) and is within the Park Royal neighbourhood town centre.

The surrounding environment is predominantly characterised by the ASDA supermarket and associated car parking, alongside a mixture of town centre uses, industrial uses, highways and public realm. The proposed TPO site is bordered by Park Royal Road to the east, Coronation Road to the north with the ASDA supermarket and parking to the south.

Officers are recommending the making of this Order following a request from a member of the public and having commissioned an Arboricultural Survey (see supporting documents) to assess the amenity value and condition of the trees in order to determine whether they merit protection via a TPO. 

37 trees have been identified as being noteworthy of protection. These have been categorised as 1 no. individual tree (encircled in black on the Tree Location Plan), 23 no. of trees as Group 1 (black dashed line on the Tree Location Plan), 3 no. of trees as Group 2 (black dashed line on the Tree Location Plan), and 10 no. of trees as Group 3 (black dashed line on the Tree Location Plan). 

Green infrastructure in this locality is limited. Officers have utilised the Tree Equity Score UK Map, co-developed by Woodland Trust, American Forests and Centre for Sustainable Healthcare. The spatial tool identifies areas with low tree canopy relative to social and environmental need. The subject site is identified as being within an area of the ‘Highest Priority Need’ for Tree Equity with a score of 55. This elevates the significance of the existing trees and enhances their place-making value within the wider context of Park Royal Strategic Industrial Location (SIL) and neighbourhood town centre. 

Any redevelopment of the site offers a significant incentive to safeguard the future of the trees and to encourage their integration within forthcoming schemes. The designation of a TPO for these trees does not constrain the redevelopment of the subject site given their location along the edge of the boundary. On-going pre-application discussions with the developer suggests intentions to retain the trees and integrate them within the proposed landscaping scheme. However, statutory protection through a TPO will provide greater control over their future management. In the event that circumstances change, this designation will ensure that any removal is subject to consent and that appropriate replacement planting is secured.

Designating TPO aligns with OPDC’s objectives for nature recovery and supports key strategies and guidance, including the Mayor’s London Environment Strategy Action Plan, OPDC’s Corporate Strategy and Management Plan, OPDC Sustainability Charter, Local Plan policies, the OPDC Public Realm and Green Infrastructure SPD and the Industrial SPD.

An Arboricultural Survey was carried out involving a qualitative assessment of each tree according to British Standard BS 5837:2012, Trees in Relation to Design, Demolition and Construction– Recommendations, focusing on arboricultural values, landscape values and cultural values. 

The Survey included sequential numbering of each tree, species listed by common name, tree dimensions including overall height, canopy spreads, age class, physiological condition, structural condition and life expectancy. Details of the tree species on the subject site can be found in supporting documents (see Arboricultural Survey, Schedule of Trees, Tree Location Plan, and Photographs of Trees). 

The survey recorded 37 individual trees deemed worthy of protection via TPO, summarised below: 

Table 1: summary of trees for tree protection

The results of this Arboricultural Survey support the need for appropriate and effective protection for these trees where the potential exists for them to be negatively impacted. Risks to these trees include any proposed development in proximity, any works to the trees, any disturbance of the ground within their notional Root Protection Areas, and any proposed pavement or road improvements.

The main findings of the survey and reasons for the TPO are as follows:

1. Visibility

• All trees represent a significant asset to local visual amenity. They are growing well and are visually prominent specimens in the urban landscape in its location along Park Royal Road/Abbey Road and Coronation Road/Acton Lane junction.

2. Individual, collective and wider impact

• Given the scarcity of large, mature specimens in the area, the survey records individual and group trees with good physiological condition (PC) and structural condition (SC) with estimated life expectancy of 20 + years. All group trees fall within Category B2 with one individual falling within Category B1. 
• The group trees provide continuous canopy cover which forms a cohesive landscape feature offering ample amount of shade for members of the public for the various resting areas which are situated adjacent. 
• They also contribute positively to the locality by providing a visually attractive green edge to the roads that softens the harsh urban environment. 

3. Importance to nature conservation and response to climate change

• The trees have high habitat value acting as an ecological corridor, linking fragmented habitats and supporting species movement. Protecting high-value trees will ensure they remain part of the area’s ecological baseline.    
• The trees provide important environmental benefits such as pollution interception, flood risk reduction and carbon sequestration.

4. TEMPO Assessment 

• A Tree Evaluation Method for Preservation Orders (TEMPO) is an assessment tool that was developed in 2009 by Forbes-Laird Arboricultural Consultancy. It acts as a guide to assist decision-makers who are determining whether trees would merit a TPO or not. 
• Officers have undertaken a TEMPO assessment on the trees within the site boundary of 2-20 Western Road, which has been informed by the Arboricultural Survey. 
• The results of the TEMPO reveal that the majority of the trees within the site boundary would ‘definitely merit a TPO’ as they scored highly with respect to their condition and amenity value. 
• The assessment has also assisted in justifying the trees that have not been included in this Order and are part of the site. Three Fastigiate Pedunculate Oak trees are located in a row along the site boundary adjacent to Coronation Road. The central tree is dead, and therefore a TPO would not be appropriate. A TPO would be defensible for the other two oak trees based on the TEMPO assessment. However, without the presence of the central tree, the remaining two trees only offer a moderate amenity value to the area and have limited presence within the streetscene. Therefore, a TPO covering the remaining two trees in this location is not considered expedient. 

5. Tree Equity Score UK Map

• The subject site falls within an area classified as having the ‘Highest Priority Need’ for Tree Equity, with a score of 55. This highlights the significance of preserving and protecting trees on the site.

All responses will be considered by OPDC planning officers. We will publish each individual comment and provide a specific officer response to each comment setting out whether or not it has resulted in a modification of the TPO and the reasoning for the officer response. These will be published in a table within a Statement of Consultation.

Following consultation, Planning Committee will confirm, modify or refuse to confirm the TPO, issuing a confirmation notice with reasons. Confirmation may proceed with or without modifications. The authority will notify the persons interested in the land affected by the Order of the confirmation. 

Final confirmation gives the Order statutory permanence. 

The landowner of the land with a TPO is responsible for them, their condition and any damage they may cause. 

Before conducting any work on a TPO-protected tree, the landowner must apply for permission before carrying out work. Any consent issued will likely be subject to conditions relating to the quality of work, implementation timescale and any other requirements necessary to ensure the works are carried out to a satisfactory standard. 

Tree owners can appeal with written consent refusals or imposed conditions to the Planning Inspectorate. The various grounds on which an appeal may be made are set out in Regulation 19. 

Unauthorised is guilty of an offence under Section 210(1) and section 202C(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 resulting in fines up to £20,000 at a Magistrates' Court, or in very serious cases, a potentially unlimited fine at Crown Court. Such work includes:

• cutting down
• uprooting
• topping
• lopping
• wilful damage or destruction

Planning Practice Guidance (Paragraph 060, reference ID: 36-060-20140306) sets out specific exemptions for trees subject to an Order. Where an exemption applies, the authority may require advance notification of the proposed works. It is not an offence to undertake work to a TPO tree that is dead, dying or has become dangerous.  

However, the burden of proof that that a tree is excepted from the need for consent because of the condition of the tree(s) lies with the person carrying out the work.  Anyone proposing to do work under this exception is strongly advised to contact us. Removing dead branches from living trees is an exception.

There is a duty requiring landowners to replace a tree removed, uprooted or destroyed in contravention of an Order. Section 206 of the Act grants local planning authority enforcement powers for tree replacement.