Tree felling: the Forestry Act 1967 and new powers

Tree felling is a necessary part of sustainable woodland management. It allows the harvesting of carbon locked up in timber for a range of uses. 

Areas that have been cleared of trees are replanted in order to lock up more carbon. 

Sustainable woodland management contributes to maintaining and improving the condition of woodland habitats. 

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) regulates tree felling through the Forestry Act 1967. 

You must get a licence before felling growing trees, subject to limited exemptions. 

Find out more about exemptions and check if you need a felling licence on the NRW website.

The Forestry Act 1967 provides the legal framework for felling trees in England and Wales. It sets out procedures and powers in relation to 

• felling licences 
• tree preservation orders 
• felling directions, and 
• appeals against decisions taken under the act

It also sets out duties and powers that NRW has to:

• regulate the felling of trees 
• develop woodland creation
• manage the production and supply of timber and other forestry products

Under the Forestry Act 1967, NRW also has a duty to achieve a reasonable balance between tree planting, management and timber production, and the conservation of biodiversity and the environment.

To assist this duty, the Forestry Act 1967 was amended. NRW now have powers to:

• add environmental conditions to felling licences to protect wildlife and the environment during felling operations
• amend, suspend or revoke a felling licence after it has been granted where something becomes unacceptable. This could be: 
  • the need to change a tree species to be replanted owing to disease risk, or
  • an unexpected sensitivity coming to light such as the presence of a protected species, or
  • environmental harm arising during felling operations

All felling licence applications received after 1 April 2024 are subject to the new powers. 

NRW have produced guidance on how they will apply these new powers. This covers: 

• environmental conditions (on naturalresources.wales) that may be attached to your felling licence
• how you can amend your felling licence (on naturalresources.wales)
• when or why NRW may amend your felling licence (on naturalresources.wales)
• when or why NRW may suspend or revoke your felling licence (on naturalresources.wales) 

NRW Regulatory Woodland officers may inspect a site:

• to ensure work complies with conditions in the felling licence, or
• to investigate where felling has taken place without a felling licence

They may decide to give you a formal notice to address an issue where discussions cannot resolve it. In this case, they will provide the relevant appeal form and details of where to send it.  

If you wish to appeal a decision made by NRW, there is a formal process to do so. 

Before starting the formal appeal process, we encourage you to discuss your case with the NRW Regulatory Woodland Officer. This may resolve the issue and should be done as soon as possible. You only have 3 months to appeal, starting from the day after you receive the decision or notice from NRW.

You can find more information on how to appeal a decision relating to tree felling.