Legislation
Legislation obligations for Arboricultural
& Silvercultural Tree Management
Last updated: 09 Dec 2024
Method Statements / Health and Safety
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 is a legal requirement. When planning and carrying out forestry (woodland) operations, the law requires that a number of health and safety duties must be completed. A Safety Statement is a written document aimed at minimising exposure to risk or injury or ill-health for all people working in the forest.
Felling License
Legal requirements for tree felling. A felling licence granted by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine provides authority under the Forestry Act 2014 to fell or otherwise remove a tree or trees and to thin a forest for management reasons.
Forestry Act 2014
The Forestry Act 2014 provides for a single licence process for tree felling. Felling licences can be valid for up to 10 years in duration, which may be extended for one or more further periods, up to a total of 5 years.
Trees outside of the forest can be felled without a tree felling licence in certain circumstances such as the following exemptions:
Excemptions
A tree in an urban area. An urban area is an area that comprised a city, town or borough specified in Part 2 of Schedule 5 and in Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act 2001 before the enactment of the Local Government Reform Act 2014.
A tree within 30 metres of a building (other than a wall or temporary structure), but excluding any building built after the trees were planted.
A tree less than 5 years of age that came about through natural regeneration and removed from a field as part of the normal maintenance of agricultural land (but not where the tree is standing in a hedgerow).A tree uprooted in a nursery for the purpose of transplantation.
A tree of the willow or poplar species planted and maintained solely for fuel under a short rotation coppice.
Trees outside a forest – within 10 metres of a public road and which, in the opinion of the owner (being an opinion formed on reasonable grounds), is dangerous to persons using the public road on account of its age or condition.Trees outside a forest – the removal of which is specified in a grant of planning permission.
Trees outside a forest – of the hawthorn or blackthorn species.
Trees outside a forest – in a hedgerow and felled for the purposes of its trimming, provided that the tree does not exceed 20 centimetres in diameter when measured 1.3 metres from the ground.
Trees outside a forest – on an agricultural holding and removed by the owner for use on that holding, provided:
- It does not form part of a decorative avenue or ring of trees
- Its volume does not exceed 3 cubic metres, and
- That the removal of it, by the owner for the foregoing purpose, when taken together with the removal of other such trees by the owner for that purpose, would not result in the total volume of trees, on that holding and removed by the owner for that purpose, exceeds 15 cubic metres in any period of 12 months.
