Intervene on a tree, a hedge or a shrub in Wallonia

Do you want to cut down a tree or prune or pull out a hedge for work, as part of a major maintenance of your land / operation or at the request of a customer?

This step will help you define the procedure to follow if you want to intervene on a tree, a hedge or a shrub (pruning, felling, uprooting, . ). This is in order to avoid infringing yourself by performing unauthorized acts.

The regulations in force in Wallonia indeed provide for different protection statuses in order to maintain the quality of our landscapes, to preserve the local plant heritage as well as the ecosystem services associated with it.

Points of attention

First of all, identify if your tree, hedge or shrub is classified as heritage, identified as remarkable (to help you, consult the section “Related steps”: Find out if a tree or a hedge is remarkable or classified in Wallonia) or if it meets other protection criteria. You will find this information at your municipal administration.

The maintenance of hedges, shrubs and especially trees, require a real know-how. You will find in the brochure “Let’s protect our trees” below tips on the right actions to apply.

In detail

• Citizens: for work or in anticipation of a permit application
• Public administrations (municipalities, provinces, regional administrations): in case of questions about the regulations in force as part of their own activities or to answer citizens’ questions
• Company: for works, in anticipation of a permit application on private or public land
• Farmer: support farmers in the maintenance of hedges and trees within their farm

The conditions to be respected to intervene on a tree, a hedge or a shrub depend on its status :

• Any tree or hedge in Wallonia
• The tree, the hedge or the shrub is classified as a heritage of Wallonia
• The tree, hedge or shrub is identified as remarkable

The procedure to be followed to intervene (prune, cut down, pull out) on a tree, a hedge or a shrub depends on its status.

IN ANY CASE – Any tree or hedge in Wallonia

Whether they are subject to a status mentioned below or not, Walloon legislation provides for regulatory measures for certain interventions on trees and hedges.

A planning permit is required for :

• The definitive deforestation of a wooded area
• The felling of isolated high-stemmed trees in areas of green spaces (according to the sector plan or the local orientation scheme)
• The felling of hedges made up of native species and with a continuous length of at least 10 meters, except to create a single access to an existing dwelling on less than 2.5 meters.
• The felling of one or more trees from an alley of at least 10 trees spread over at least 100 meters, of which 4 trees are visible simultaneously and entirely from a point in the public space. Trees planted in fields and pastures to be exploited according to the principles of agroforestry are not affected.

Legal provisions also exist according to the Rural Code, according to certain municipal restrictions (Law on the Conservation of Nature and the Walloon Code of Territorial Development) or according to the location of the tree (trees on public roads, along the railway or gas pipes, under electric cables and plumb other impetuents, along waterways. ).

To apply for a planning permit or for any additional information, contact the urban planning department or the environment department of your municipality.

SO CLASSY – The tree, the hedge or the shrub is classified as a heritage of Wallonia

Some trees, hedges and shrubs are classified as heritage of Wallonia for their exceptional individual character, or because they are part of a classified site. They are then covered by a classification decree published in the Belgian Monitor.

Any intervention on a tree, a hedge or a classified shrub falls within the competence of the Walloon Heritage Agency (AWaP) which defines the conditions to be fulfilled and the procedures to be followed for the implementation of the project.

The list of trees and classified sites is available from the municipality concerned and these elements are identified on the Wallonia Geoportal.

IF REMARKABLE – The tree, hedge or shrub is identified as remarkable

Some trees, hedges and shrubs are identified as remarkable because they are listed on a municipal list or because they meet criteria defined in the Territorial Development Code. To determine if your tree, hedge or shrub is identified as remarkable, consult the procedure (see section “Related procedures”: Find out if a tree or a hedge is remarkable or classified in Wallonia)

Most interventions on these remarkable elements are subject to planning permits. This is particularly the case for carrying out :

1. The slaughter
2. The damage to the root system in line with the crown of trees and shrubs, and within 2 meters on either side of the hedges

• Section of roots
• Deposit and transport of materials
• Use of chemicals: fuels, fungicides, herbicides, construction chemicals
• Vehicle passage, handling of construction equipment with the exception of the plow intended for the maintenance of trees, hedges and shrubs
• Ignition of fire
• Stripping of soil to a depth of more than 30 centimeters
• Land settlement
• Waterproofing of land
• Overload of land above the pre-existing land level at the works

3. The modification of the silhouette

• Trimming: remove the entire crown
• Rapprochement: cut the carpenter branches on 1/3 of their length
• Restoration: cut the carpenter branches up to their insertion point at the trunk
• Shortening of branches of more than 30 cm in circumference for shrubs and more than 50 cm in circumference for trees
• Thinning pruning with removal of more than 1/3 of the crown distributed throughout the crown
• Adaptation pruning with removal of a circumscribed part of the crown to adapt the crown to local constraints
• Conversion pruning: significantly modify the shape of the crown or the structure and/or the composition of the vegetation of the hedge
• Hedge trimming with a pruner
• Harvesting of the hedge or shrub

To apply for a planning permit or for any additional information, contact the urban planning department or the environment department of your municipality.

IF THERE IS AN IMMINENT RISK TO PUBLIC SAFETY

If a tree risks causing major damage to people and property in the short term, it is advisable to contact the municipal administration concerned to take the necessary measures for public safety.