Tree work in Great Glen
The village conservation area covers the historic core around Main Street, the church and the older stone properties. Harborough District Council takes the section 211 notices, and the six-week clock runs from receipt.
Great Glen’s larger properties carry substantial mature specimens — cedar, beech, oak and horse chestnut on old plots, a lot of it protected by individual or area TPOs. Reductions rather than removals is almost always the realistic conversation.
The village sits on the Sence valley, and the field boundary trees running down to the brook include a lot of ash. Dieback along those boundaries is well advanced in places, and ash that overhangs a lane or a paddock is a duty-of-care issue for the landowner.
Protected trees in Great Glen
Great Glen falls under Harborough 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 Great Glen job is anywhere near that line, we photograph and document the defect before starting. We prepare and submit the paperwork to Harborough District Council as part of the job — there is no extra charge for it.
Emergency call-outs in Great Glen
Great Glen 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 Great Glen — Great Glen conservation area, St Cuthbert’s Church, the River Sence and Stretton Hall. 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 Harborough 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.