Property hunters hit by issue every buyer should know about

A property hunter has admitted to feeling quite literally stumped and has sought advice online after highlighting an issue with a potential new home.

Detailing his dilemma on Reddit, he explained: “I viewed a property yesterday. It’s perfect except for this large protected tree in the garden. I’m not sure what the rules about it are except that I can’t work on it or take it down without permission.”

He went on to admit his fear that while the tree poses a risk of “being taken down by strong winds,” legislation could mean he’d be helpless to take action until after the event. “Additionally I worry about the effects of the roots under ground causing havoc,” he explained. “Also, I want to build a garden building but not sure how close I’m allowed to build to this thing. Any insight would be really appreciated!”

Writing in response, another Reddit user advised him to look elsewhere. “If the tree is near enough to the house or to anything else you want to do to cause problems, back away and choose a different house,” they said. “That applies even if the house isn’t protected – trees near houses (within a few meters) cause all sorts of problems. You want trees at the end of your garden or drive, not next to any foundations.”

Meanwhile a second advised the man to speak to his local authority before making any decisions. “Seems like you have a good idea already, you have to apply to the council for permission to do anything, like a crown lift or pollarding,” they wrote. “I think it might be allowed to take off broken limbs without permission, but you might need a tree surgeon/arborist to confirm.

“Other things you might want to consider, choose tree surgeons and work carefully. I live in an area with a lot of protected oaks, some of them have been butchered by idiots and it obviously takes a long time to grow so that it looks nice again.”

Architect Dale Whitfield recommends using Google Maps during any property search process to determine whether any house you like the look of risks having a protected tree in the immediate vicinity. “Never buy a property without doing this first,” he advises.

“Whenever I see a property that I like, I always head over to the local authority’s planning search and look into its planning history,” Dale continued. “Immediately, I can see how many applications this property has had for maintaining protected trees. This will greatly reduce the potential for this property – you can’t build in the root protection area of a protected tree.”

The Woodland Trust, meanwhile, offers further background on the ruling, advising: “The root protection area (RPA) is most commonly used in a planning context to avoid loss or damage to trees where they are being retained within a development.

“Anyone involved with trees and development should refer to it. It can also be adopted by anyone who owns or manages trees, like farmers, whether planning permission is required or not.”

But how is the RPA calculated? “The RPA is calculated using the diameter of the tree’s trunk at 1.5m above ground level. The calculation is the same for all trees, regardless of their age,” the trust goes on to explain. “For trees with a single stem, the RPA is calculated as an area equivalent to a circle with a radius 12 times the stem diameter.”

As an example, for a tree tree with a diameter of 1.20m, that means the radius of the RPA circle would be 1.2m x 12 = 14.4m, whilst the whole RPA would measure π x 14.4² ≈ 652m^2.