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Protected Tree List for London

Cut down trees

What most of us value is a good environment with all the protections in place for us to maintain it.

Many trees, whether veteran or with protected status, should be listed to provide additional protection. A protected tree is only as good as the local authority wishes it to be. What there should be is a statutory protection for trees and parks.

When Tower Hamlets were about to fell eleven protected trees and uproot an ancient tree to make space for a private development, The East London Garden Society requested all London boroughs for details of their protected trees and to include the number and their species.

What began as an enquiry under The Freedom of Information Act has brought to light how each London borough regards its responsibility for the environment and there are glaring differences between them. Out of thirty-two London boroughs, Waltham Forest has failed to reply to our request. Those who have replied can be seen below.

Remember, these trees are supposed to be protected. If there is no listing or a record of the species, how can they be protected?

The East London Garden Society has viewed the websites of the local authorities which have failed to replied. Tower Hamlets has an interactive map which is not usable and Waltham Forest states they protect clusters of trees.

As can be seen from the replies, not all local authorities comply with the regulations.

The Statutory Regulations relating to protected trees states that a Tree Preservation Order:

  1. Shall specify the trees, groups of trees or woodlands to which it relates.
  2. Where the order relates to a group of trees, shall specify the number of trees of each species in the group.
  3. Shall indicate the position of the trees, groups of trees or woodlands, as the case may be, by reference to a map.

Protected Trees are a matter or importance, not only for the provision of oxygen, but as a marker for how much our concern for the local environment is shown. If local authorities are not complying with current legislation, how much are they going to care about our the environment in general?

Trees are prominent in all environments and offer many protections as well as providing us with a great level of oxygen. Trees were the major influence of allowing life to thrive by providing the oxygen we now breathe.

The survey results below show there is not a common policy on the protection of trees in London. Some boroughs had no wish to provide protection and some found it not in the public interest to show where protected trees exist, if at all.

A protected tree is not protected if a local authority believes it to impede a development. A good example of that is the Bethnal Green Mulberry Tree, a 500-year-old tree, found to be in the way of a private development. In this particular conservation area, eleven protected trees are to be felled along with twenty-seven mature trees, all over 100 years of age.

The environment must be of prime importance in any advancement, so a Tree Manifesto is required.

This will cause devastation to the ecological system, but the worst mistake is the failure to recognise this. Would the Council have given approval for a grade 1 listed building to be demolished? We think not!

The mind set of officials, elected or otherwise, intent on not recognising the value of trees in an urban setting is appalling. There is no protection for trees but there should be because once we decide that trees are expendable much else will follow and our cities will become less attractive.

The following Boroughs have provided their information. See if trees in your street are included.


Barking & Dagenham.
Tree Preservation Orders
Barnet
Tree Preservation Orders
TPO Supporting Information
Bexley
Information recorded but not available in a reportable format.
Brent
Does not have a register for ancient and veteran trees.
Bromley
Tree Preservation Orders
Camden
No up to date records are kept of TPOs or species of tree.
City of London
Tree Preservation Orders On left hand menu, scroll down to Historic Environment and select Protected Trees.
Croydon
Does not hold TPO information electronically at present. Anyone wishing to view this information needs to make an appointment to view the hard copy ledgers and related information.
Ealing
Tree Preservation Orders
Enfield
Tree Preservation Orders (Search for your address to show on map)
Greenwich
Tree Preservation Orders The species are not recorded.
Hackney
Tree Management & Preservations Orders
Hammersmith and Fulham
Copies of TPOs are available to purchase for a fee by emailing: planning@lbhf.gov.uk
Haringey
Tree Preservation Orders.
Harrow
Tree Preservation Orders
Havering
The TPOs in the Borough can be viewed on this map
For a copy of the required TPO enter the property/site address in the location box at the top of the map, go to Legend, select ‘Tree Preservation Order’ and a pushpin will indicate the desired property. Click the property marked by the pin and open the TPO link.
Hillingdon
Map of protected trees and Tree Preservation Orders
Islington
Records are not kept if the tree is ancient or veteran in conservation areas or of the species of all trees in the conservation areas. Records are retained of TPO trees but the number of TPO protected ancient or veteran trees cannot be provided, or the tree species.
Kensington
Abbotsbury Close to Aubrey Walk
Eardley Crescent to Exmoor Street
Ladbroke Crescent to Lower Sloane Street
St Albans Grove to Sydney Street
Tree preservation orders
Kingston upon Thames
Tree Preservation Orders
Lambeth
Tree Preservation Orders
Lewisham
Does not have a register for ancient and veteran trees.
Merton
Tree preservation orders
Newham
Tree preservation orders
Redbridge
Tree preservation orders
Southwark
Protected Trees
Spelthorne
Tree preservation orders
Sutton
Tree preservation orders
Tower Hamlets
Eventually replied outside of the FOI request time limit but failed to provide the location of its trees.
Wandsworth
There are approximately 40,000 or more Protected Trees in the Borough. The trees in Conservation Areas with Woodland TPO's and Area TPO's are not listed individually. 
Ancient and veteran trees on land in private gardens:
TPO 439 Manor Fields – Sweet Chestnut
TPO 440 Wildcroft Manor – Sweet Chestnut
TPO 441 Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability West Hill – Oak
TPO 442 10 Daleside Road (rear) - Oak
Ancient and veteran trees on land in Council ownership:
Battersea Park - Black Walnut
Strawberry tree
Tooting common - Dr Johnson Avenue - Oak
Lido - Oak
Alton estate - London Plane
Lucombe Oak
Details of these Tree Preservation Orders can also be found on the Councils GIS map.
Westminster
Administer 705 Tree Preservation Orders, many of which protect multiple trees. Data on the total number or species of trees protected is not held as many of the Orders contain areas of trees which are simply classed as ‘any tree of whatever species’. Tree Preservation Orders do not record the age of trees, so which trees are classed as ancient or veteran is not recorded.