Tree Preservation Orders
Rother District Council (RDC)—not Battle Town Council—is responsible for making Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs). However, this is not a statutory duty, and while RDC recognises the environmental importance of protecting trees, their capacity to process TPO requests is limited. Requests can be made by members of the public as well as by planning officers when assessing planning applications.
It is also important to note that creating a TPO is not the end of the process. Any future proposal to carry out works on a protected tree (or a tree within a conservation area) requires formal consent from the Council.
Between January 2017 and July 2024, RDC records show that the Council made 83 new TPOs. This averages around 10 TPOs per year across the whole of Rother. RDC does not have a dedicated Tree Officer, so this workload is significant. These figures do not include the number of TPO requests that did not result in an order being made.
Recording Trees
With all of this in mind we want to try a new approach that engages the people of Battle. When you are out and about and come across a tree you believe to be deserving of recognition, we’d love for you to record it so it features on our Battle Tree Map. This process has the potential to identify trees that have a high public amenity value, as well as those that may be at risk. All these are important factors in considering whether a tree(s) is suitable for TPO (tree preservation order). We hope we will be able to filter those most suitable and put them forward to RDC.
This map updates automatically when you register a tree via the form, though it may take a short while to update.
Please hover over the points to see who planted the trees and what species they are.