Tree survey London: UK Tree Protection Statistics
The median published figure in the UK Tree Protection Statistics is 87 percent across 6 figures from 4 sources' own pages (range 13.50 to 91 percent), read 12 October 2026.
4 of the 13 named sources read in full publish a figure; 9 publish none, read 12 October 2026.
The median is unchanged since 26 September 2026 (was 87 percent across 6).
By quarter and region
| Breakdown | Median | Range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| quarterJanuary to March 2026, permissions granted | 87% | 87 to 87% | 1 |
| quarterJanuary to March 2026, major applications decided in time | 91% | 91 to 91% | 1 |
| quarterOctober to December 2025, permissions granted | 87% | 87 to 87% | 1 |
| quarterOctober to December 2025, major applications decided in time | 91% | 91 to 91% | 1 |
| regionLondon tree canopy cover | 19.6% | 19.6 to 19.6% | 1 |
| regionUK woodland share of land area | 13.5% | 13.5 to 13.5% | 1 |
Every figure, with its source
One row per published figure: the figure as the source's own page publishes it, the page, and the day it was read. A figure that is not on a page we read is not on this one.
| Source | Figure | Breakdown | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| GOV.UK - Planning applications in England: January to March 2026 | 91% | January to March 2026, major applications decided in time | 2026-09-11 |
| GOV.UK - Planning applications in England: October to December 2025 | 91% | October to December 2025, major applications decided in time | 2026-10-12 |
| GOV.UK - Planning applications in England: January to March 2026 | 87% | January to March 2026, permissions granted | 2026-09-11 |
| GOV.UK - Planning applications in England: October to December 2025 | 87% | October to December 2025, permissions granted | 2026-10-12 |
| London Datastore - Tree Canopy Cover 2024 | 19.6% | London tree canopy cover | 2026-10-12 |
| Forest Research - Forestry Facts and Figures 2025 published | 13.5% | UK woodland share of land area | 2026-10-12 |
The sentence each figure was read from (6)
- GOV.UK - Planning applications in England: January to March 2026, read 2026-09-11:
decided 91% of major applications within 13 weeks or the agreed time, unchanged from the same quarter a year earlier; and decided 19% of major applications within the statutory period of 13 weeks, unchanged from the same quarter a year earlier;
- GOV.UK - Planning applications in England: October to December 2025, read 2026-10-12:
decided 91% of major applications within 13 weeks or the agreed time, unchanged from the same quarter a year earlier; and decided 20% of major applications within the statutory period of 13 weeks, up 1 percentage point from the same quarter a year earlier;
- GOV.UK - Planning applications in England: January to March 2026, read 2026-09-11:
granted 59,400 decisions, down 3% from the same quarter a year earlier; this is equivalent to 87% of decisions, unchanged from the same quarter a year earlier;
- GOV.UK - Planning applications in England: October to December 2025, read 2026-10-12:
granted 63,000 decisions, down 3% from the same quarter a year earlier; this is equivalent to 87% of decisions, up 1 percentage point from the same quarter a year earlier;
- London Datastore - Tree Canopy Cover 2024, read 2026-10-12:
The 2024 updates are based on data primarily from 2022 and estimate London’s tree canopy cover at 19.6% (±0.3%) and its green cover at 51.7% (±1.11%).
- Forest Research - Forestry Facts and Figures 2025 published, read 2026-10-12:
Woodland area in the UK represents 13.5% of total land area
Read in full, publishes no figure
9 named sources were read in full on the dates shown and print no usable figure. They are counted, never filled in.
- GOV.UK - Live tables on planning application statistics, read 2026-09-11: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- GOV.UK - Planning applications statistics (collection), read 2026-09-11: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- GOV.UK - PS1 and PS2 district planning matters return: guidance notes, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- data.gov.uk - Planning application statistics live tables, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Forest Research - Forestry Statistics, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Forest Research - Provisional Woodland Statistics, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Forest Research - National Forest Inventory: tree cover outside woodlands, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- London Datastore - Green Cover 2024, read 2026-10-12: every candidate on the page was refused
- London Assembly Research Unit - Tree canopy cover in London, read 2026-10-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
Methodology
Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2).
4 of the 13 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 9 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 0 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere.
The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source for each breakdown it prices, in % (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences for one breakdown), so a page that gives figures for several breakdowns gives one for each and N counts 6 figures, never sentences; 26 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded.
The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): a series joining the government's quarterly planning application statistics (the PS1/PS2 district-matters return, which counts tree preservation order and conservation-area tree applications) to canopy and woodland statistics by area: applications per hectare of canopy and the refusal rate per authority, and for London the borough canopy figure beside the borough's tree caseload.
The two datasets are published quarterly and annually by different bodies and have never been divided by one another, which is what makes 'a London tree survey costs more' a measured statement rather than a sales line.
26 candidate sentences on these pages were refused by a reviewer; each refusal and its reason is recorded in the review ledger.
Sources (13)
- GOV.UK - Live tables on planning application statistics(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GOV.UK - Planning applications statistics (collection)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GOV.UK - Planning applications in England: January to March 2026(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GOV.UK - Planning applications in England: October to December 2025(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GOV.UK - PS1 and PS2 district planning matters return: guidance notes(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- data.gov.uk - Planning application statistics live tables(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Forest Research - Forestry Statistics(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Forest Research - Provisional Woodland Statistics(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Forest Research - Forestry Facts and Figures 2025 published(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Forest Research - National Forest Inventory: tree cover outside woodlands(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- London Datastore - Tree Canopy Cover 2024(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- London Datastore - Green Cover 2024(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- London Assembly Research Unit - Tree canopy cover in London(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
Cite or embed this figure
The median published figure in the UK Tree Protection Statistics is 87 percent across 6 figures from 4 sources' own pages (range 13.50 to 91 percent), read 12 October 2026.
4 of the 13 named sources read in full publish a figure; 9 publish none, read 12 October 2026.
UK Tree Protection Statistics, quarter January to March 2026, permissions granted: median 87 percent across 1 source, read 12 October 2026.
UK Tree Protection Statistics, quarter January to March 2026, major applications decided in time: median 91 percent across 1 source, read 12 October 2026.
UK Tree Protection Statistics, quarter October to December 2025, permissions granted: median 87 percent across 1 source, read 12 October 2026.
UK Tree Protection Statistics, quarter October to December 2025, major applications decided in time: median 91 percent across 1 source, read 12 October 2026.
UK Tree Protection Statistics, region London tree canopy cover: median 19.60 percent across 1 source, read 12 October 2026.
UK Tree Protection Statistics, region UK woodland share of land area: median 13.50 percent across 1 source, read 12 October 2026.
The median is unchanged since 26 September 2026 (was 87 percent across 6).
Cite as: "treesurveycost.co.uk UK Tree Protection Statistics", updated 2026-10-18, https://treesurveycost.co.uk/datasets/uk-tree-protection-statistics/.
Download the CSV (6 rows, computed 2026-10-18)