Do I need permission to cut down a tree in Stockport?

Published 25 October 2026

The short answer is: usually not. Most trees in private gardens around Stockport can be felled or pruned without asking the council. The exceptions are trees with a Tree Preservation Order (TPO), trees in a conservation area, and trees kept as a condition of a planning permission. Wildlife law applies to every tree, protected or not.

Here’s how to work out which applies to yours, starting with who you need to ask.

Your council depends on where you live

Our area crosses six council boundaries, and each one keeps its own tree records:

• Stockport Council: Stockport, Bramhall, Marple, Hazel Grove and Bredbury.
• Cheshire East Council: Wilmslow, Alderley Edge, Poynton, Handforth, Knutsford and Chelford.
• Trafford Council: Altrincham.
• Tameside Council: Hyde and Denton.
• Manchester City Council: Wythenshawe.
• High Peak Borough Council: Whaley Bridge.

Someone living in Bramhall and someone a mile away in Handforth will check with different councils, so it’s worth confirming yours before you look anything up.

How to check for a TPO or conservation area

• Stockport: the council has an online map. Type in your postcode and active TPOs show in green, proposed ones in yellow, and conservation areas in pink. You can also add past tree work applications to the map. Stockport has 37 conservation areas.
• Cheshire East: use the council’s interactive TPO map and conservation area map. You can also contact Development Management at planning@cheshireeast.gov.uk or on 0300 123 5014. A copy of an order costs £70.
• Trafford: the council’s “View protected trees in Trafford” map shows most trees with TPOs and trees in conservation areas. If you’re still unsure, email trees.planning@trafford.gov.uk.
• Tameside: contact the council’s tree officers. Tameside’s own advice notes that Leylandii will never be covered by a TPO.

If the tree has a TPO

A TPO makes it an offence to cut down, top, lop, uproot, wilfully damage or wilfully destroy the tree without the council’s written consent. Government guidance adds that cutting roots needs consent too. The order covers the whole tree, including branches hanging over a neighbour’s fence.

You, or a tree surgeon acting for you, apply through the Planning Portal or the council’s own form. There’s no fee. The council has up to eight weeks to decide once the application is valid, and consent normally lasts two years.

If you’re in a conservation area

Trees in a conservation area are protected even without a TPO. Instead of applying for consent, you give the council six weeks’ notice (a “section 211 notice”). The council can’t refuse it or attach conditions. It can either let the work go ahead or make a TPO to protect the tree. If six weeks pass without a TPO, you can carry on.

Trees with a trunk of 75mm or less across, measured 1.5 metres above the ground, don’t need notice. Stockport’s guidance also excludes hedges, bushes and shrubs.

If your house is fairly new

On some newer developments, trees were kept as a condition of the planning permission rather than given a TPO. The Planning Portal advises contacting your council to check whether you need to apply or give notice before working on trees where full planning permission has been granted. If your estate was built around mature trees, ask before felling one.

Do you need a felling licence?

Almost never for a garden tree. In England, felling licences come from the Forestry Commission, and trees in gardens, orchards, churchyards and public open spaces are exempt. So are fruit trees, lopping and topping (normal tree surgery), and small trees under 8cm across at 1.3 metres. Outside those, you can fell up to five cubic metres of timber a calendar quarter without one.

A licence becomes a real question on bigger plots, such as a paddock or a strip of woodland near Chelford or Knutsford. If you’re unsure, the Forestry Commission says you must be able to prove an exemption applies, so keep photos and records.

Nesting birds

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it’s in use or being built. This applies to every tree and hedge, with or without a TPO. Felling and heavy pruning are best planned for autumn and winter, and any tree should be checked for active nests before work starts. Our guide to bird nesting season and tree work explains more.

Dead and dangerous trees

Government guidance says that before working on a dead protected tree, you must give the council five working days’ written notice, unless the work is urgently needed. If a tree poses an immediate risk of serious harm, you must give written notice as soon as practicable. Take photos and keep a record of the tree’s condition. If a protected tree is removed, you may have to plant a replacement.

What happens if you get it wrong?

Government guidance says cutting down or destroying a TPO tree without consent can lead to a fine of up to £20,000 in the magistrates’ court, or an unlimited fine in the Crown Court. Lesser offences, such as unauthorised pruning, carry fines of up to £2,500. The same penalties apply to work in a conservation area without notice.

How our teams help

Before we quote, we check whether your tree is likely to be protected and tell you what’s needed. If it has a TPO or stands in a conservation area, our teams write the specification for the application and don’t start until consent comes through or the six weeks have passed. See our protected trees (TPO) service or, if no permission is needed, our tree removal and felling service. Get a free quote to have a tree looked at.