Section 211 notice for tree work in a Ramsgate conservation area
The s.211 notice is one of the simplest pieces of planning law and one of the most misunderstood. Here is the working-contractor version, with the Ramsgate specifics that matter.
What the notice actually is
Section 211 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 requires six weeks' written notice to the local planning authority before you carry out work to a tree in a Conservation Area. In Ramsgate, that authority is Thanet District Council, and much of the town sits inside one of the Ramsgate-side conservation areas (Ramsgate, Ramsgate Royal Esplanade, Ramsgate Montefiore and Pegwell are separate designations). Check the council's conservation area map for your exact address.
The notice is a notification, not an application. You are not asking for permission. You are telling the council what you intend to do and giving them six weeks to intervene, during which they can make a Tree Preservation Order on the tree if they think the work should not go ahead. The council cannot refuse a notice; if it makes no TPO, you can do the work within two years of giving the notice.
What counts as a tree here
The Act does not give a botanical definition, and hedges and shrubs are normally not covered, although a tree growing in a hedge can be. The thresholds that matter:
- Trunk diameter over 75mm measured at 1.5m above the ground: this is the standard s.211 trigger.
- Trunk diameter over 100mm measured at 1.5m above the ground: the threshold if the felling is purely to improve the growth of other trees.
Below 75mm at 1.5m, s.211 does not bite. That is how ordinary garden hedges stay outside the regime, a well-kept privet or laurel line rarely has a stem near the threshold. A neglected hedge with woody old standards is another matter.
What the notice looks like in practice
The notice needs the address, a plan or clear description showing the tree, the species and the proposed work. Check with Thanet District Council (planning.services@thanet.gov.uk, 01843 577150) for how to submit it. There is no fee.
Once the council has received the notice, the six-week period starts. During those six weeks the council can:
- Do nothing: you can go ahead once the six weeks are up (or earlier if the council consents in writing).
- Make a Tree Preservation Order: the tree is now protected and you need formal consent to do the work, which is a separate application (the council has 8 weeks to decide it, and there is no fee).
Penalty for skipping the notice
Doing work to a s.211-caught tree without notice is a criminal offence. The fine on conviction is up to £20,000 in the magistrates' court, and unlimited in the Crown Court. It is not worth the risk.
When the threshold catches Ramsgate hedges
Common Ramsgate hedge situations where the notice bites:
- Mature Leylandii or thuja hedges that have been left to run to 4-6m. Main stems can be over the threshold.
- Old holly, yew or hawthorn standards inside a mixed native hedge that was originally a field boundary.
- Mature Elaeagnus ebbingei on a well-established seafront line: 20-year-old plants can carry stems over 75mm.
- Sea buckthorn allowed to reach tree scale on an exposed coastal plot.
What we file for you
Where a quote involves work near the threshold, I draft the s.211 notice, submit it, wait out the six weeks, and schedule the work after. You do not need to file anything. If the council makes a TPO, I let you know and the work does not go ahead without formal consent.
Want this looked at?
Send a couple of photos and your postcode to hello@ramsgatehedges.co.uk or 07763 100 477.
Related: ready to give notice? How to apply for permission to prune trees in a Ramsgate conservation area, step by step.
Sources: GOV.UK, Tree preservation orders and trees in conservation areas; Thanet District Council, Works to protected trees and Conservation areas pages.