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Tree work in Shepherdswell conservation area: what the section 211 notice requires

Shepherdswell village sits within a designated conservation area. That means any tree in your garden or on your boundary with a trunk diameter over roughly 75mm, measured 1.5 metres above ground, needs a six-week notice served to Dover District Council before you can cut it, crown-reduce it, or take it down. Most residents do not know this until something goes wrong. Here is what that situation looks like before the paperwork lands on the planning portal, and what it looks like once the six weeks are up and the work is done properly.

Before

Picture a mature field maple growing within the hedgeline along a garden boundary in the village: trunk around 30 centimetres in diameter, a dense spreading crown, branches extending well over the lane and shading the windows of the adjacent cottage. The owner has been meaning to get it reduced for years, and a contractor is booked. Nobody has checked whether the property sits inside the Shepherdswell conservation area. If it does, the work has to stop before it starts.

After

Now imagine the same tree six weeks after a section 211 notice was sent to Dover District Council, with no Tree Preservation Order made in response. The crown reduction goes ahead as described in the notice: a modest reduction in crown spread, removing the over-extended branches above the lane and the dead wood in the upper crown. The tree looks well managed rather than butchered, the lane is clear of the overhang, and the work is lawful. The owner keeps the notice, proof of sending and any reply on file.

What happens in between

Step 1: confirm whether the section 211 notice requirement actually applies

Section 211 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 requires anyone proposing to cut down, uproot, top, lop, willfully damage, or willfully destroy a tree in a conservation area to give six weeks' written notice to the local planning authority before doing so, provided the tree is not already subject to a Tree Preservation Order (TPOs have their own consent process) and not exempt under the Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) (England) Regulations 2012. The practical exemption threshold is a trunk diameter of 75mm or less measured at 1.5 metres above ground level, so small, young trees generally fall outside the requirement. Most hedgerow trees, garden standards, and anything that has been there for more than a decade or two will be above that threshold.

To check whether your property falls within the Shepherdswell Conservation Area, use Dover District Council's interactive planning map (via dover.gov.uk) or call the planning department directly. The conservation area boundary runs through the older core of the village, taking in the Church of St Andrew and the surrounding residential plots, but not all of Shepherdswell parish falls within it. Worth checking before assuming either way.

Step 2: describe the work clearly before you submit

The notice needs to describe what you intend to do and why: the species of tree, its approximate height and location, and the nature of the proposed work. Vague notices ("reduce tree") are likely to be sent back for more information: the notice must describe the work, identify the trees and be dated. I always advise clients to be specific: crown reduction by X per cent, removing specified overhanging limbs, taking the tree back to a defined lateral height. A clear arboricultural specification gives the council's tree officer enough information to assess the proposal in one pass, and it also protects you if there is ever a question about what was actually authorised.

Submit via the Planning Portal (planningportal.co.uk) or direct to Dover District Council's planning department. There is no fee for a section 211 notification.

Step 3: wait the six weeks

Once the council confirms receipt and the notice is logged on the planning register, the six-week period runs. During those six weeks, Dover District Council's tree officer can do one of three things: serve a provisional Tree Preservation Order (which then becomes a permanent TPO and you cannot do the proposed work without separate consent), consent in writing to the work proceeding before the six weeks are up, or do nothing. If nothing happens within six weeks, you are free to carry out the work as described in the notice, and that permission lasts for two years from the date the notice was served. You do not need to re-notify for the same work within that two-year window.

In practice, routine crown reductions, dead-wood removal, and lift-overs (raising the crown above a road or pathway) on well-managed trees in conservation areas typically produce no TPO response. Work that threatens a tree the council considers significant to the conservation area's character is the thing most likely to prompt action.

Step 4: carry the work out to the spec you notified

The work must match what the notice described. Going beyond the notified spec after the six weeks have elapsed is not covered by the non-response. This matters practically: if the arborist on site decides to take an extra three metres off the top on the day, that additional work is unauthorised and the owner, not the contractor, bears the enforcement risk.

Under section 211(5) of the Act, carrying out work without serving the notice, or carrying out work that goes beyond what the notice covered during a TPO provisional period, is a criminal offence: GOV.UK gives the maximum as a fine of up to £20,000 in the magistrates' court and an unlimited fine in the Crown Court. Courts take the conservation area status seriously; this is not a technical formality that councils routinely overlook.

What about hedges rather than trees?

Conservation area status does not by itself give hedges the same protection as trees. A hedgerow planted and maintained as a hedge (rather than a line of individual trees with clear distinct trunks) is not subject to section 211 notice requirements. However, if you are considering removing a rural hedgerow rather than just cutting it, the Hedgerow Regulations 1997 may require a separate hedgerow removal notice to the council, depending on the hedge's age and location. A hedge that falls within the Shepherdswell conservation area boundary is still subject to those regulations. Removal and cutting are treated very differently: routine trimming and cutting of a hedge never requires notice under either the conservation area rules or the Hedgerow Regulations; removal is what triggers the notification obligation.

Where a hedge contains mature trees with clear trunks, those trees are subject to section 211 in the normal way, even if the surrounding shrubby hedge growth is not.

Sources: Town and Country Planning Act 1990, sections 211 and 212 (legislation.gov.uk); Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) (England) Regulations 2012 (legislation.gov.uk); Planning Portal, "Works to trees in conservation areas" (planningportal.co.uk); Hedgerow Regulations 1997 (legislation.gov.uk); Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 1; Dover District Council planning map (dover.gov.uk).