Tree Preservation Orders in Wales

TPOs in Wales are made under the same primary Act as in England — the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. But the detailed regulations are different. Wales uses the Town and Country Planning (Trees) Regulations 1999, while England moved to new regulations in 2012.

Key differences from England

The core principles are the same: trees are protected, you need consent for work, penalties are unlimited. The differences are mostly procedural:

• Wales still uses the 1999 Regulations — the forms and procedures are slightly different from the 2012 English version
• The model TPO format differs (Wales retained the pre-2012 model order)
• Welsh Government guidance applies rather than DLUHC guidance

In practice, if you are a homeowner or developer in Wales, the process feels very similar. You apply to your local planning authority for consent, they have eight weeks to decide, and the penalties for breaching a TPO are the same.

Welsh planning authorities

Wales has 25 local planning authorities: 22 unitary authorities and 3 national park authorities (Bannau Brycheiniog / Brecon Beacons, Pembrokeshire Coast, and Eryri / Snowdonia). Each maintains its own TPO register.

Checking for TPOs in Wales

Search by postcode on TPO Search to see if we have data for your area. We import TPO data from Welsh planning authorities where it is published openly. For authorities not yet in our dataset, contact the planning department directly.

View all planning authorities in our dataset

If you need authoritative guidance specific to Wales, contact your local planning authority's tree officer or check Welsh Government planning guidance.