The trees and the woodland which we manage are inspected on a regular basis and work is programmed on a priority basis. Work includes hazard and risk assessment, removal of large diameter dead wood and broken branches, crown lifting, felling and stump removal, and tree planting.
Dundee City Council do not undertake private works.
Visit Dundee City Council website to find out if trees are protected by a Tree Preservation Order, are within a Conservation area, or areas that are maintained by Dundee City Council.
What we will do to a tree
- Inspect Dundee City Council 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 (topping or lopping)
- 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 on an individual basis).
- 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.
Dundee city Council is now in its second year of an in-depth survey and removal of infected Ash Trees
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.
- View FAQs re Ash Die Back Disease
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 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.
Privately Owned Trees
The council has no powers to make owners prune/remove trees bothering neighbours. Only when a Tree is assessed as dangerous or has fallen or causing a problem on a public highway or path will the council intervene, which may involve a cost to the owner.