What's a Tree Officer

The Tree officer’s responsibilities are often many and various and may even vary from Council to Council. However they are there to offer advice and help you in all related tree matters. Listed below are a number of tree officers responsibilities, if in doubt give them a call but remember that their powers are limited when the tree is on private land and they are not there to act as your personal Consultant.

• To advise members of the public on the legal status of trees.
• Whether the trees are protected by a Tree Preservation Order (T.P.O), or, are in a conservation area, or are covered by condition on a planning permission.
• Advise on how to make an application for works to trees under the above legislation.
• Advise on what works may be carried out without the formal consent of the Council.
• Enforce breaches of tree protection legislation

• To consider the level of nuisance a Council owned tree may be causing and recommend remedial action.
• To assess the safety of Council owned trees.
• To consider the amenity value of trees and maintain the tree stock in a sustainable manner.

• Administer the Tree Warden Scheme.
• Organise community events (tree related).
• Represent the Council to outside bodies.
• Survey trees and prepare management reports.

The same advice is also available to Parish Councils and public utility companies etc.

Dealing with all the applications for works to trees is my responsibility and I report my findings to either my line manager, the Head of Architectural and Landscape Services, or to the Council's Regulatory Committee for decision. I also advise development control on planning applications where trees may be affected by the proposed development.

• As part of my duties I inspect the trees in South Staffordshire and advise on any works that may be required.
• This is a free service to the public. I also manage the Council's tree stock.
• Working with my line manager, I administer notifications made under the Hedgerows Regulations and complaints about High Hedges made under the Anti-social Behaviour Act.

The Council does not have an 'approved tree contractors' list. However, if a member of the public seeks advice in that respect they are informed that the Council uses Arboricultural Association approved contractors but that this does not preclude the use of any other appropriately qualified contractors who have the relevant insurance.

It should be noted that not all local authorities have the same arrangement as far as tree officers and their functions are concerned, particularly larger District Councils and Metropolitan Boroughs. For instance, a Council may have a dedicated tree officer working directly with development control, another tree officer elsewhere who solely administers TPO's and conservation area notifications and an arboricultural officer in another section who manages the Council tree stock. Additionally, with other authorities it is not necessarily the arboricultural/tree officer that deals with hedgerow regulation notifications or high hedge complaints. These may again be 2 different people in different departments.