Trees on Privately Owned Land

Property Owners are responsible for the maintenance of any tree on their land. (This responsibility may extend to occupiers or other parties where legal agreements exist).

Its always best to find out if privately owned trees are protected or covered by any other conditions before doing anything, details of who to check with can be found in the Contact List. If a tree is protected you can contact the planning department on 01483 444610 for advice on how to proceed.

For trees not covered by the above you can obtain advice from the following sources:

The Arboricultural Advisory and Information Service
Website: www.treehelp.info/ Based at the Forestry Commissions Research Station at Farnham, the AAIS provides a premium enquiry line service available to home owners, tree managers, designers and anybody who from time to time may be faced with a tree related problem.  Called ‘Tree Helpline’ (telephone number 09065 161147) this line service is staffed five days per week (Monday to Friday) between 8.45am and 5.00 pm. 

Although each telephone call is charged through telephone bills at £1.50 per minute, the specialist service will save enquirers considerable time seeking information and guidance from other sources.  Staff will be available to give practical guidance on aspects of trees and related subjects.  The ‘Tree Helpline’ can also be contacted via e-mail:  [email protected]

The Arboricultural Association

The AA is a registered charity concerned with raising the standards of tree care and maintains a Directory of Registered Consultants. A Registered Consultant of the Arboricultural Association is a person with proven experience in the assessment and management of trees at a professional level, who will be able to provide authoritative advice on all matters related to trees. The Association also produces a range of publications on amenity tree care which are available at minimal cost.

To contact the Arboricultural Association go to their website: http://www.trees.org.uk/ or e-mail them at [email protected]

Hedges

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has published a leaflet giving advice on settling garden hedge disputes amicably.