The Duty to Consult

The Duty to Consult legislation forms section 115 of the Environment Act 2021 and it was enacted on 30th November 2023; that is it became a statutory duty that all local authorities are required to consult residents on the felling of street trees where no exemptions apply.  The duty to consult on felling street trees (“Duty to Consult’) has been introduced to ensure local people can express their views over the proposed management of street trees in their locality. The duty will ensure the decision-making process is more transparent and considers the views of local people. 

In Tameside the vast majority of street trees we fell would be exempt from the legislation as we are felling for safety reasons.  However on the occasions when we are considering felling a street tree where we have a duty to consult we will post the details of the consultation on this page. 

The full guidance can be found here, including that trees felled for safety reasons are exempt from the duty to consult – section 19.
https://www.theihe.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Duty-to-Consult-Guidance-for-Local-Authorities-FINAL.pdf