Tree Health Surveys, Disease Diagnosis & TPO Advice in Darlington

We look at the whole tree, not just the bit that's visibly worrying you. That means the crown (dieback, sparse foliage, unusual leaf colour or size), the trunk (cracks, cavities, areas of dead bark, fungal fruiting bodies), and the base and root area (fungal growth, soil heave, signs of root damage or decay). Context matters too, recent building work nearby, changes in drainage, or ground level changes around the base can all affect a tree's health long before it shows above ground.

At the end of a survey you'll get a clear explanation of what we've found and what we'd recommend, whether that's monitoring, specific tree work, or in more serious cases, removal on safety grounds.

Trees in the North East face a similar set of common problems to the rest of the UK: honey fungus at the base, various cankers, dieback linked to drought stress or root damage, and species-specific issues like ash dieback, which has affected ash trees extensively across the region in recent years. Diagnosing the cause correctly matters because the right response is completely different depending on what's actually wrong, a tree with a treatable, localised issue doesn't need the same response as one with terminal root decay.

We'll tell you plainly what we find, including when we're not certain and a specialist laboratory diagnosis would be worth getting, rather than guessing to give you a tidy answer.

If a tree has a TPO on it, it's a criminal offence to fell, top, lop, uproot, or wilfully damage it without the council's written consent, and this includes root cutting. In Darlington, trees within a conservation area are also protected even without a specific TPO, and Darlington Borough Council require six weeks' notice of any planned work to a tree in a conservation area, using their Tree Works Form, so they can decide whether the tree warrants a TPO before work goes ahead.

There's a separate, faster route if a tree is dead, dying, or dangerous, meaning an immediate risk of serious harm, where five working days' notice can apply instead of the full application process, but the council still needs to be told and still needs to agree the tree qualifies. Getting this wrong isn't a minor slip, it can mean a criminal prosecution, so if you're not certain whether a tree is protected, it's worth checking with the council or asking us before any work goes ahead.

We can advise on whether a tree appears to be protected, help you understand what the council will need from an application, and where relevant support you through the notice or consent process, but the final decision always rests with Darlington Borough Council's planning team, not with us.

A few situations that commonly prompt a call: a tree that's dropped an unusual amount of deadwood recently, fungal growth appearing at the base or along the trunk that wasn't there before, a change in the amount or colour of foliage compared to previous years, or simply buying a property with mature trees and wanting to know what you're dealing with before anything goes wrong. None of these automatically mean bad news, plenty of surveys conclude that a tree is perfectly healthy and just needs routine maintenance, but it's better to know than to guess.

Where a survey identifies genuine risk, timing matters, and where it identifies a protected tree, getting the paperwork right with Darlington Borough Council before any work starts matters just as much. We'd rather spend a bit longer at the assessment stage getting a clear, accurate picture than rush to a recommendation that turns out to be wrong once work is already underway.