Living with trees

We encourage you to plant a tree in your garden if you have space for one. This should be done away from properties and structures.

Appropriate species can be found at RHS: Trees for smaller gardens.

Planting a tree in your garden is one the easiest things you can do to help achieve our goals of reducing the impacts of climate change and increase the tree canopy cover of the borough and country.

South Tyneside Council Housing Services

If you are a South Tyneside Council tenant, we manage the trees in your garden and can offer advice and help. For contact information see, South Tyneside Council Housing Services: Contact us.

We work on a risk based system when assessing requests and these will be prioritised on actual risk, not perceived risk due to size.

These will be a high priority for our team, with minor issues such as falling leaves, loss of satellite signal, birds' droppings and a "right to light," possibly taking up to two years to respond to.

If you have a conifer or hedge, your housing officer will need to escalate works on these.

For more information see the Tree and Woodland Policy.

Rented accommodation or owned homes

If you are in private rented accommodation, please read your tenancy agreement regarding your responsibilities for your garden and trees. Residents are encouraged to plant a tree in their garden where their tenancy agreement allows.

Your tree is your responsibility. If you have issues or need help with a tree in your property you can get valuable advice from the Arboricultural Association. Private tree related issues should try and be settled amicably with your neighbour.

Felling trees is highly specialised and potentially very dangerous so should always be carried out by competent professionals.

Make sure any contractor carrying out the work is suitably experienced, qualified and fully insured. For a list of suitable firms see, find a tree surgeon. 

Tree Preservation Orders (TPO)

If your tree is protected by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO), is located within a Conservation Area or has other forms of restrictions placed upon it, you must get written permission from us before undertaking any work.

The law is quite strict on this and ignorance of a protection order is not seen as a defence. You should always check with the Planning Department by contacting Planning.Applications@southtyneside.gov.uk before doing so.

Where a tree with a TPO has been granted consent to be removed, there may be a requirement to complete a tree replacement notice form. Guidance on this can be found at GOV.UK: Tree replacement notice appeals.