Evaluating trees for Protection by TPO

Key Aspects of Assessing a tree for protection by TPO

• Amenity Value (Public Benefit): The legislation requires that a TPO must provide 'public amenity' so it must be shown that a reasonable degree of public benefit would be gained by making a tre the subject of a TPO. It should therefore normally be visible to the public and offer significant landscape, ecological, or historical value.
  The longevity of a tree, and hence the duration of the amenity it provides, must be taken into account, it being generally considered that it would not be appropriate to protect a tree that is unlikely to last more than ten years.

• Expediency (Threat Level): Although a tree may merit protection on amenity grounds, it may not be expedient to

  make it the subject of a TPO if it is recognisably under good management. However it may be expedient to protect it if it is thought it might come under threat in the future, for instance as a result of development pressure.
  

A methodology for assessing the suitability of trees for protection by Tree Preservation Order was originally published in 2002 under the name TEMPO (‘Tree Evaluation Method for Preservation Orders’). Developed  by tree consultant Julian Forbes-Laird, the system has been adopted and indeed adapted over the years and an iteration of it is presented here.
This is intended to provide a consistent and transparent method for evaluating whether a tree warrants a TPO, whether it fulfills the criteria set out in the relevant legislation, balancing amenity value with expedience.

While Government guidance states that ‘Although a tree may merit protection on amenity grounds it may not be expedient to make it the subject of a TPO’ neither term is fully defined in the legislation. The following suitability assessment methodology attempts to clarify these terms by considering all of the relevant factors that should be taken into account in the decision-making process.

The full Tree Evaluation method for assessing a tree's suitability for protection by TPO can be viewed and download from the link below. A link to the Data Recording Sheet is also provided: