If you have a tree enquiry, the most important thing to establish is who owns the land the tree sits on. This is because it is the land owner who is responsible for the tree.
There are a number of different potential landowners, including:
- a private land owner, if the tree is in someone’s garden
- Essex County Council, if the tree is on a verge next to a footpath or road
- us, if the tree is in a park or play area
- the local parish council, if the tree is on other public land
- a private management company, if the tree is part of a complex of flats
- CHP, if the tree is part of a social housing property they own
We can’t tell you who owns a piece of land. We only hold records for the land that we own.
If you want to find out who owns a piece of land, you can contact the Land Registry. They charge a small fee for this service.
You can also download our Tree Management Policy, which sets out our approach to managing trees on our land and our statutory responsibilities.
The policy:
- acts as a source of information and reference about tree issues in our area
- acts as a framework for decisions that will affect trees
- supports our vision for our area to be at the leading edge for economic, social and environmental excellence in the heart of Essex
