Tree work in Countesthorpe
The old village around Main Street and the church sits in a conservation area, so the six-week section 211 notice to Blaby District Council applies to anything of size. The estates that expanded the village from the sixties onwards are unrestricted by comparison.
A lot of Countesthorpe’s garden trees were planted in the same decade across whole estates, which means they hit maturity together. Silver birch is the obvious one — planted everywhere in the seventies as a "small" tree, now fifteen metres and dropping limbs, with a natural lifespan that is already running out.
Field boundary and hedgerow ash around the village edges is showing dieback. Where those trees overhang a garden, a lane or a paddock, they need looking at annually.
Protected trees in Countesthorpe
Countesthorpe falls under Blaby District Council for tree protection. Before any work we check two things for your address: whether the tree carries a Tree Preservation Order, and whether it sits inside a conservation area.
If it has a TPO, works need a written application and the council has eight weeks to determine it. If it is in a conservation area, you must give six weeks' written notice under section 211 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 for any tree over 75mm diameter measured at 1.5m — even with no TPO on it. Doing the work without either is a criminal offence, and for the most serious cases the fine in the Crown Court is unlimited.
Dead trees and trees posing an urgent safety risk are exempt, but the exemption is narrow: five working days' written notice is still required unless the danger is immediate, and the burden of proving the tree qualified sits with you. Where a Countesthorpe job is anywhere near that line, we photograph and document the defect before starting. We prepare and submit the paperwork to Blaby District Council as part of the job — there is no extra charge for it.
Emergency call-outs in Countesthorpe
Countesthorpe is roughly 15 minutes from our Wigston base, which puts it comfortably inside our 45-minute typical emergency response. The line is answered by a person 24 hours a day. Send two photos — one wide, one close to the failure point — and we can usually give you a fixed price before the truck moves.
If a tree is on a power line, call 105 first: your distribution network operator attends free and makes the conductor safe. If it is blocking a public road or anyone is at risk, call 999 first. Then call us.
Local landmarks and access
We know Countesthorpe — Countesthorpe village conservation area, St Andrew’s Church and Winchester Road playing fields. That matters more than it sounds: knowing which streets a chipper can park on and which need timber carrying out by hand is the difference between an accurate quote and a price that changes on the day.
Trees on the public highway, in parks and on other council land are Blaby District Council's responsibility, not the adjacent householder's. If that is what you are looking at, report it to them and they will attend at no cost to you — we will point you to the right team rather than quote you for something you should not be paying for.