Trees and Woodlands

Community Greenspace is responsible for the management of approximately 32,000 trees in our parks and open spaces within the Perth & Kinross Area.

The trees and the woodland which we manage are inspected on a regular basis and work is programmed as required. Work includes hazard and risk assessment, removal of large diameter dead wood and broken branches, crown lifting, felling and stump removal, and tree planting. The Tree Management Policy (PDF) [590KB] explains our approach to managing trees owned by the Council. These policies also explain why we can not help with tree management on land not owned by the Council.

Visit our Tree & Woodland Map to find out if trees are protected by a Tree Preservation Order, are within a Conservation area, or are on PKC maintained ground.

What we will do to a tree

Inspect PKC owned trees to assess their health and stability
Raise a low crown over roads, paths or cycle ways
Reduce or remove snapped or broken branches in proximity to high use areas & residences

What we will not do to a tree

Fell healthy trees.
Prune trees encroaching on private property (you are legally entitled to prune any overhanging vegetation back to your boundary)
Reduce the height of trees
Prune trees to improve light levels at properties (as a resident you do not have a legal right to light that may be blocked by trees; however we do take this into consideration when planting and recommending tree pruning works).
Prune trees to improve TV/satellite reception
Prune or fell trees to remove or reduce seasonal occurrences such as leaf fall.

Ash tree pest alert

Chalara dieback of ash is a serious disease of ash trees caused by a fungus called Hymenoscyphus fraxinea. The disease causes leaf loss and crown dieback in affected trees and usually leads to tree death. Some trees are more resistant than others and it is expected that some ash trees will survive.

Detailed information about the disease can be found on the Scottish Forestry website.

If you think you have seen an ash tree on Council land that has been infected by the disease please contact us.

For more information about managing Ash Die Back on private land, visit Forest Research online, or contact a professional Tree Surgeon or Forester.

Council owned trees and telephone cables

It is the telephone service providers responsibility to maintain the service. Several options are available to the utility company that do not require the pruning of a tree to maintain the service. Often pruning is a temporary solution and the problem may reoccur when branches grow back. For example the cable can be sheathed at points of high friction; the line can also be redirected through the tree canopy. It may be that the telephone service provider is able to suggest an alternative solution to the problem of trees affecting telephone wires. The Council will not prune or fell a Council owned tree to remove or reduce interference with telephone wires.

Council owned trees and overhead power cables

Scottish and Southern Electricity inspect all of their overhead power cables and notify the Council of any proposed tree works affecting Council owned trees. The Council is not required to routinely prune trees to clear power cables. Members of the public enquiring about trees and overhead power cables should contact SSE.