Maintenance of our trees

The maintenance of our trees plays a vital part in making sure that Stockport remains home to a diverse and natural environment. We’re committed to exploring opportunities to use the woodchips, logs and standing timber created by our operations, towards greater environmental sustainability.

General tree management

  • Trees will not be removed unless there is a demonstrable arboriculture, safety or legal reason for the removal
  • All requests for works to trees growing on council land will be assessed and authorised by council officers
  • If tree works are required in the bird nesting season, from March to August, trees will be examined for evidence of nesting
  • No tree work will be undertaken on trees where there is potential to impact any protected species, until consultation has been undertaken with the council ecologist or appropriate external consultants
  • We'll prune street trees to ensure free, unobstructed passage for pedestrians, traffic and visibility of all road signs, street lights and furniture
  • We are not responsible for trees and woodlands on privately owned land
  • We do not provide a service to arbitrate in disputes caused by privately owned trees, unless the issue directly affects council land, as agreed by the Head of Service

Obstruction by overhanging branches

Tree branches from council owned trees that obstruct footpaths, the carriageway, highway signage, street lighting or CCTV will be inspected and have the necessary pruning work undertaken within a timescale appropriate to the level of risk.

Tree branches from privately owned trees that obstruct footpaths, carriageway, highway signage, street lighting or CCTV will be inspected. The council may serve 14 days statutory notice on the landowner. After this time, if the work has not been completed, the council will undertake the work and re-charge the landowner at full cost.

Leaf or fruit fall and secretions

Clearing of leaves from gutters and pathways, and weeding of set seeds is normal routine seasonal maintenance that property owners are responsible for within their property boundary. Honeydew is not readily controllable by pruning and cleaning of affected surfaces is also considered to be routine maintenance by the property owner.

As fallen leaves, blossom and berries are uncontrollable, we will not prune trees to remove the amount of leaf litter, blossoms or berries which fall from the trees onto private land.

Television reception

There is no legal right to good television reception, and no legal requirements to rectify a loss of television or radio service in respect of trees. We'll only consider requests to prune trees to improve reception where the following conditions have been met:

  • it can be demonstrated that the householder has taken every effort to find an engineering solution to the problem and has not been successful
  • the work required is consistent with good arboriculture practice and will not unduly affect the amenity value or health of the tree

If these conditions are met, we will offer a chargeable service to undertake the necessary work.

Shade or blocking light

There is no legal right to light in an open space or garden. We'll consider applications to prune trees for right to light on an individual basis. We can offer a chargeable service to undertake the necessary work.

Tree works and schedules

You can view the schedules for our:

All council owned and maintained trees are inspected, categorised, and work is prioritised. High priority works are complete within 10 working days of inspections. Work required due to a health and safety issue, or actionable nuisance will be completed within 12 to 24 months of inspection.

View our tree maintenance policy document for more information. The National Tree Safety Group provides guidance and advice for managing tree safety.