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The green spaces and areas around your estate are an important part of making where you live look nice.
DDC and Kent County Council (KCC) have different responsibilities for looking after these areas.
We are responsible for looking after your estate which includes managing the grass cutting and gardening contracts across the Dover district.
Our housing officers help us to keep estates up to standard, but we always welcome tenants contacting us if there is an issue in your local area or if a communal repair is needed.
KCC maintains some of the the land in the Dover district which includes the highways, roundabouts and some pavements. They also cut the grass on highway verges and spray weeds on pavements.
Trees and hedges play a vital role on our estates. Not only do they provide character and beauty within our towns and villages, but they also give us oxygen, act as noise barriers and support much of our wildlife.
There are special laws and regulations to protect trees. If you have a tree in your garden that you intend to work on, or if you want to try to stop someone else cutting down a tree, you need to know what to do to ensure you don't fall foul of the law.
Not all trees are protected, and no particular species or size of tree is protected. To be protected, a tree must meet one or more of these three conditions:
a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) has been made at some time to cover that tree
the tree is within a conservation area, or
a planning condition has been made at some time to cover that tree.
A Tree Preservation Order (TPO) is an order made by us which makes it an offence to cut down, lop, top, prune, uproot or wilfully damage or destroy a tree without our written consent.
We are always interested to hear of trees which might be suitable for protection, but normally a tree will not be protected unless it is under threat of some sort, and is worthy of an order by being of some particular amenity value.
If a neighbour’s tree overhangs your property, you are usually allowed to cut back the branches or roots to the boundary, provided you do not damage the tree’s health or stability. Any cut material with value (such as fruit or wood) must be offered back to the tree’s owner.
We strongly recommend speaking to your neighbour before carrying out any work to avoid a dispute.
For anything more than minor pruning, consider hiring a qualified professional. Ask them to provide a written description of the work and its expected impact. This can help prevent misunderstandings with your neighbour or accusations of intentional damage.
Before starting any tree work, check whether the tree is protected by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) or located in a conservation area. It is your responsibility to confirm this. If the tree is protected, you must contact us.
The effect of roots on buildings is an extremely complex one.
If you think your buildings are being affected by roots from your trees or a neighbours' then you should contact us for advice.
Please be aware that just because a tree is close to a building it doesn't mean it needs to be removed. In some cases, removing a tree can cause more trouble than leaving it in place. It is essential to get advice before taking any such action.
