Your district and borough councils maintain trees on land they own. Contact them directly to report a problem with a tree on their land.
Our management strategy
The county council doesn't undertake one-off reactive inspections, to address nuisance issues. When a tree is thought to be causing a nuisance, we'll consider appropriate measures during the county-wide inspection programme. Please see our policies for further information:
We inspect our trees every 3 years to ensure they are safe and not causing damage. We look for:
- signs of instability
- weakness to the tree’s structure
- disease and/or poor health
- obstructions to road access or visibility
- root damage to walls, road surfaces, and pavements
- interference with service cables / overhead wires
Any preventative works we identify from inspections are included on our tree maintenance programme.
Tree preservation orders
Some trees are protected by tree preservation orders (TPOs) or because they are in a conservation area.
You need permission before any works are carried out to a protected tree.
You may be liable to a fine of up to £20,000 if a protected tree is lopped, cut, or pruned without permission.
Apply for permission to work on a protected tree
We advise any work to trees is undertaken by a qualified and insured tree worker. See a list of contractors approved by the Arboricultural Association.
Contact us
Contact us if you think one of our trees is unsafe.
Please note that some trees are protected.
We don’t undertake inspections immediately, to address nuisance issues caused by trees such as:
- falling leaves, fruits, seeds, and sap
- light and shading
- branches hanging into your garden
- pollen and allergies
- honeydew deposits (produced by aphids feeding on the leaves of trees)
- roosting birds and droppings
- interference with television reception, telephones and solar panels
Report a tree maintained by the county council
Privately owned trees
If privately owned trees are causing an obstruction to the highway, we may ask the owner to cut trees back within a reasonable timescale.
If the tree owner doesn't take action, enforcement of privately owned over-grown trees is required to follow a legal process. The timescale for the legal process can vary but is likely to take at least 6 months to resolve, and the end result may not entail cutting back the vegetation fully but cutting back enough for safe use of the highway.
We'll only act regarding privately owned overgrown trees if it is considered a safety issue.
Report an overgrown privately owned tree
Trees on school sites only
Phone: 0116 305 5000