Video: Trees in the urban environment

It's estimated that there are some 150 million trees living alongside us in our towns and cities, and to most of us they're much loved and highly valued. Occasionally, however, we're forced to assess the value of our trees' existence against the need for new developments and the maintenance of our existing urban fabric.

There are various reasons why trees become problematic and why people wish to remove them. The biggest problem is the issue of insurance claims, where trees are identified as causing problems with building foundations - it's estimated that there are around £400 million worth of tree-related insurance claims in the UK every year, the majority of them due to subsidence. Other issues include blocking sight lines for CCTV, or more general issues such as development. Often, the removal of trees is for good arboricultural practice; if for example a tree is dead, dying or dangerous then it has to be removed on grounds of health and safety.

There's a common misconception that within a Conservation Area all trees are protected by a Tree Preservation Order, but Section 211 of the Town and Country Planning Act makes special provisions for trees in Conservation Areas not covered by TPOs. When any works to a tree are proposed in a conservation area, the council require six weeks notice, to give them time to assess the works and inspect the tree; if they consider the works acceptable, nothing more need be done. If the council objects to those works, then a Tree Preservation Order is served.

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