Most garden trees in Lincolnshire can be pruned or felled without asking anyone. Some cannot. A tree might be covered by a Tree Preservation Order, it might stand in a conservation area, or the amount of timber involved might need a felling licence. Getting it wrong can be expensive, and the responsibility sits with the tree owner as well as the contractor.
This guide sets out the rules as they apply around Horncastle, using the government's published guidance. It is a plain summary, not legal advice, and the council always has the final word.
Which council looks after your trees?
Horncastle, Woodhall Spa, Wragby, Coningsby, Tattershall and Spilsby all fall under East Lindsey District Council. Bardney, a few miles to the west, is in West Lindsey, so the tree enquiry goes to West Lindsey District Council instead. Lincolnshire County Council looks after highway trees, but protection orders and conservation area notices are handled by the district councils.
Tree Preservation Orders
A Tree Preservation Order, or TPO, is made by the council to protect a tree, a group of trees or a whole woodland for its value to the area. Once a tree has a TPO, you need the council's written consent before you cut it down, top it, lop it, uproot it or wilfully damage it. Government guidance also treats cutting a protected tree's roots as needing consent.
A few points worth knowing:
- Decisions take time. If the council has not decided an application within 8 weeks, the applicant can appeal for non-determination. Plan ahead for anything that is not urgent.
- Consent lasts two years by default, unless the council sets a different condition.
- Fruit trees. Consent is not needed to prune a tree cultivated for fruit, as long as the work follows good horticultural practice.
- Dead trees. You must give the council 5 working days' written notice before cutting down or working on a dead protected tree, unless the work is urgent.
- Dangerous trees. Where there is an immediate risk of serious harm, the work can go ahead straight away, with written notice to the council as soon as practicable afterwards. Keep photos.
Conservation areas
Several of the towns we cover have conservation areas. Lincolnshire's heritage records list conservation areas in Horncastle, Woodhall Spa, Wragby, Spilsby and Tattershall. If your tree stands inside one, it is protected even without a TPO.
Before cutting down, topping, lopping or uprooting a tree in a conservation area, you must give the council six weeks' written notice, known as a section 211 notice. The council uses that time to decide whether the tree deserves a TPO. It can also reply sooner to say it has no objection.
Small trees are exempt. Notice is not needed where the trunk is no more than 75mm across, measured over the bark 1.5m above the ground. The limit is 100mm if the tree is being removed only to help neighbouring trees grow. On a multi-stemmed tree, the exemption is lost if any one stem is over the limit.
What happens if the rules are broken?
The penalties are real. Cutting down or wilfully destroying a protected tree can bring a fine of up to £20,000 in the magistrates' court, or an unlimited fine in the Crown Court, and the court must take into account any financial gain from the offence. Lesser offences, such as lopping that does not destroy the tree, carry a fine of up to £2,500.
Felling licences
A felling licence from the Forestry Commission is a separate thing. It mostly matters on farms, estates and woodland, not in gardens. Trees in private gardens, orchards, churchyards and some public open spaces are exempt, as are trees under 8cm across at chest height. Outside those exemptions, a licence is needed to fell more than 5 cubic metres of timber in a calendar quarter. Removing a line of mature field trees can reach that figure quickly, so it is worth checking before larger commercial or land work.
Wildlife still applies
Even when no permission is needed, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to damage or destroy an active bird's nest. Bats and their roosts are protected too. That is why spring and summer work starts with a careful look through the tree first.
How to check before work starts
- Contact the planning or trees team at East Lindsey District Council, or West Lindsey for Bardney, and give the address and a description of the tree.
- Check your property deeds or planning history. New houses sometimes come with conditions protecting existing trees.
- Ask your tree surgeon to check. A good quote says whether permission is needed and who will apply for it.
When Will or John visit to look at a tree, they will tell you if they think it may be protected so the right paperwork is in place before any cutting. You can read more about domestic tree surgery, tree felling and removal and what a tree surgeon does. Ring Will on 07506 185049 or John on 07538 128890, or send the details through the contact page. Site visits are free and quotes are no obligation.
Published 13 October 2026 by Will, New Leaf Arb Tree Surgeons, Horncastle.