Tree Preservation Orders in Scotland

Scotland has its own TPO legislation, separate from England and Wales. TPOs are made under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, with detailed rules in the Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation Order and Trees in Conservation Areas)(Scotland) Regulations 2010.

Key differences from England

• Different primary Act (1997 Act, not the 1990 Act)
• Different regulations (2010 Scottish Regulations, not the 2012 English Regulations)
• Made by Scottish planning authorities (34 council areas) rather than English/Welsh LPAs
• Appeals go to the Scottish Ministers via a Reporter, not the English Planning Inspectorate

The core protections are similar: you need consent to work on a TPO tree, penalties for breach are unlimited, and the consent process takes eight weeks.

Penalties in Scotland

Destroying a TPO tree in Scotland can result in an unlimited fine, the same as in England and Wales. This was increased from a capped fine by the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. Other unauthorised work carries lesser penalties but can still result in prosecution.

Scottish planning authorities

Scotland has 34 planning authority areas, aligned with the 32 council areas plus the two national park authorities (Cairngorms and Loch Lomond & The Trossachs).

Checking for TPOs in Scotland

Search by postcode on TPO Search to check if we have data for your area. We import TPO data from Scottish councils where it is published openly.

View all planning authorities in our dataset

For authoritative guidance specific to Scotland, contact your local planning authority's tree officer or check Scottish Government planning guidance.