Tree section
 Introduction
We are a central service dealing with all matters relating to trees. We look after trees on behalf of all departments in the council that have responsibilty for them; assist the borough planner with processing planning applications which affect trees and, help the public with queries they may have about trees or related matters.
Please select the links below to find out more.
Contact us Services Council trees Protected trees
Tree Surgeons FAQ's Great trees in Wandsworth
Contact us
A team of five arboricultural officers, an administrative officer and a section manager, cover the borough:
- Central Wandsworth/Earlsfield areas, (020) 8871 6372
- Battersea area, (020) 8871 6371
- Tooting/Balham areas, (020) 8871 6397
- Putney area, (020) 8871 6346
For general enquiries, please call (020) 8871 6372 or email trees@wandsworth.gov.uk
We are based at Wandsworth Common and can be contacted as follows:
You can write to us at:
The Tree Section
Staff Yard, Dorlcote Road
Wandsworth Common
SW18 3RT
Telephone: (020) 8871 6372
Fax: (020) 8870 7129
Email: trees@wandsworth.gov.uk
Office hours
The office is open from 9am to 5pm on weekdays. If you ring, you may get an answerphone as we are often out on site looking at trees. Please leave a message as we check the machine regularly and will get back to you.
Outside of normal office hours we are available to deal with emergencies such as fallen trees. Between 5pm and 9am ring the main town hall switchboard on (020) 8871 6000 - you will be put through to the emergency services officer who can contact us.
 Services
The tree section provides the following services:
- Advice about council owned trees
- Advice about protected trees
- Advice about trees on development sites
- Advice about tree legislation
- Processes planning applications for Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas for the borough planner
Council trees
We are only responsible for maintaining trees on land which it owns, or for which it has legal responsibility. The council is a large and complex organisation, split into separate services with specific legal and budgetary responsibilities. Most council services have trees on the land they manage. The Tree Section staff are specialists in arboriculture and act as "agents" for these services, and we undertake the day to day management of their trees. However, the legal responsibility for trees, the setting of policy, and managing associated budgets lies with the individual service (see list below).
We are responsible for looking after:
| Trees: |
Managed on behalf of: |
| in streets (with some exceptions - see below) |
Technical Services Department |
| on council managed housing estates |
Housing Department |
| in gardens of council tenants |
Housing Department |
| in parks and open spaces |
Leisure and Amenity Services Department |
| in Social Services property |
Adult Care Services and Children's and Young Peoples Services |
| in Wandsworth-owned cemeteries |
Leisure and Amenity Services Department |
We can answer most routine queries about tree maintenance but we will refer queries about policy or budget to the relevant "client" from the list above. We deal directly with queries about trees in parks and open spaces.
We are not responsible for maintenance of trees in the following locations:
- Private gardens - please contact the property owner
- Leasehold gardens - please contact the property occupier
- Street trees on Red Routes or trunk roads - please contact Transport for London www.tfl.gov.uk
- Housing estates managed by Co-op or RMO (Residents' Management Organisation) - please contact the Individual Co-op or RMO manager
- Schools - please contact the head teacher
- Streatham and Lambeth Cemeteries - please contact Lambeth Council www.lambeth.gov.uk/ContactUs
- Housing Association property - please contact the Occupier or the Housing Association.
All work done on behalf of the council is carried out by Advanced Tree Services who won, and are now part way through, a 6-year term contract
Tree surgeons
A list is supplied below - without prejudice and for information only. The contractors in this list are those who used to carry out works for us before we changed to the current single-contractor arrangement. Only contractors who successfully carried out works are included and the omission of any other company does not imply a criticism. We cannot accept any responsibility for work carried out by any of these Contractors.
You are advised to obtain at least two written quotations for any work and to insist on seeing a current receipt or certificate in respect of insurance premiums.
 Tree contractors (34 kb)
Protected trees
Trees can be protected in several ways and if your tree is protected you may need permission from the council before you do any work to it. This includes any kind of work whether it is just minor pruning through to complete removal.
Trees may be protected by being subject to a Tree Preservation Order, by being in a Conservation Area, or be subject to Planning Condition. Before you do any work to a tree, you should check whether or not you trees is protected - you could be prosecuted and fined if you do work without the necessary permission.
Strictly speaking, tree protection is the responsibility of the Borough Planner's Service but the arboricultural staff work closely with the planning officers. We inspect trees on their behalf, and provide them with technical advice. We can provide borough residents with technical advice about trees, and general advice about tree protection and tree-work applications, but detailed or technical queries about planning processes are best directed to the Planning Service
Tree Preservation Orders
Preservation Orders are placed on trees which the council believes make a significant contribution to the amenity of the local area. Permission is needed from the council before you do anything to a tree with a Preservation Order on it. You can view or download a list of properties where preservation orders are in force. Please note that the list only gives the properties where one or more trees have a preservation order - if you have more than one tree, not all of them are necessarily covered.
Alternatively, you can use the Planning Service Tree Preservation Order Database to make a detailed search for maps and documents related to the order.
If your tree is covered by a preservation order you will need to apply to the Planning Service for permission.
Get an application form, guidance notes and checklist
Conservation Areas
Conservation areas are areas of the borough that have been designated as having special architectural or conservation merit. All trees in these areas over 75mm girth (3 inches) are protected. If you live in a conservation area you must give written notification to the council before you do any work to a tree. You must then wait until either we reply saying you may proceed, or until 6 weeks have passed - which ever comes soonest (usually our reply). This gives us time to consider whether the work is appropriate, or if not, time to make a preservation order.
Get a "notification" form. (You do not have to use this but the notification must be in writing. The form makes it easier for us to process applications).
Get application forms, guidance notes and checklists
 Planning conditions
When planning permission is given for building or development work, "conditions" are often made as part of the consent. This is usually to ensure that any trees on site are not adversely affected by the work. There is no list of sites where planning conditions are in force but if you have been granted planning permission within the past 5 years, you should check the permission document if you still have it - or ring the Planning Service to check.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Why does the council protect trees?
Trees are very important. They release oxygen into the air and absorb carbon dioxide from it. They provide us with shade and a home for wildlife. They filter out dust, dirt and noise and they soften a harsh urban environment. They are also beautiful. Life in a city would be very different and most likely unpleasant without them.
2. It is my tree, why can't I do what I like with it?
Trees have only one owner, but they give benefits to the whole community. Trees are protected for the same reasons that any other laws or regulations are made - so that there is some control over activity, which might be detrimental to the community.
3. My tree is protected - does this mean I can't do anything to it?
You can do works to trees but you need permission first. Anything that is either necessary or reasonable will normally be given permission.
4. My neighbour's tree is too big - what can I do?
Firstly you should talk to your neighbour - they may be unaware that it is causing you concern. However, it is their choice as to whether they wish to do anything. If not, then you can arrange to prune back any overhanging branches but you cannot prune anything that does not actually cross over the boundary.
5. If I cut off branches from an overhanging tree, do I put it back in their garden?
The tree and the branch are the property of your neighbour. This means that if you keep it, or get rid of it without their permission, you would be technically guilty of theft. In view of this, the best course of action is to ask if they want it back and get rid of it if they say no. You can put it back in their garden but make sure you don't damage anything when you do it.
6. How do I get a council-owned tree pruned?
Contact us. We have a programme of regular pruning and we can let you know when it is due. To be fair to everyone, we try to stick to the schedule but if the tree is causing excessive problems, we may be able to do some interim works.
Send us an email or telephone (020) 8871 6372.
These are the trees we look after - and those we don't.
7. What can I do if a tree infringes my "right to light"?
You may have a right to light - but it's not as simple as you may think. Only a building has a right to light - and only then if it has "enjoyed" that light uninterrupted for at least 25 years. There is no right to light in a garden. The light to which you are entitled is only a basic minimum. A good guide is that if you can sit near a window and read a newspaper on a cloudy day, then you have the light to which you are entitled. There is no right to have the sunshine through a window. The law is not clear on how trees affect a right to light because they grow over a period of time, they are not completely solid and, most trees drop their leaves in winter.
8. Isn't there a new law about tall hedges blocking light?
Yes, a new law came into operation in England on 1st June 2005, giving district and unitary authorities, the City of London and London boroughs powers to deal with complaints about high hedges. Please ring the planning service (enforcement section) on (020) 8871 8418.
Great trees of London
Send your comments
If you have a query or comment, send us an email or phone us on (020) 8871 6372
For further advice about trees
For advice about trees you can download our range of leaflets in Adobe's pdf format.
Tree planting
Tree care
Trees and the law
Feedback and suggestions to: trees@wandsworth.gov.uk
|
