Preventable Tragedies: Why UK Tree Maintenance Needs Chris's Law

Send us a topic important to you.Inadequate tree maintenance by local authorities is a critical issue. We focus on the tragic, preventable death of Chris Hall in 2020, killed by a decayed tree limb in Wilmslow. The responsible council, Cheshire East, was fined £500,000 for failing to have a formal maintenance strategy. Currently, regular tree inspection is voluntary, creating a legislative gap that puts the public at risk. We explore the campaign for Chris's Law, which seeks to mandate that councils register and regularly inspect high-risk trees, arguing that preventative maintenance is essential and ultimately cost-effective.Key TakeawaysTrees, while beautiful and majestic, require essential maintenance for public safety due to their size and predictable lifespan.The death of Chris Hall was preventable, as the 130-year-old decayed tree was known to be dangerous, and recommended maintenance work had not been carried out.Cheshire East council pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 following the incident, as they had no formal tree maintenance strategy since 2009.There is currently a "legislative gap," meaning local councils have no statutory duty to perform regular tree inspections on public land; this work is voluntary and often neglected when budgets are tight.Fiona Hall is campaigning for Chris's Law, requiring councils to maintain a register of high-risk trees and legislate for their regular inspection as a manageable and cost-effective approach.Five or six people die every year from falling branches or trees, suggesting this is not an infrequent occurrence. Preventive work is significantly more cost-effective than the financial penalties of negligence, such as the £500,000 fine issued to Cheshire East.Existing guidance from the National Tree Safety Group provides an evidence-based framework for managing tree safety, recommending tree owners follow a plan for "zoning" their tree stock based on frequency of public access.Source: Tree Maintenance: Guidance to Local AuthoritiesVolume 773: debated on Wednesday 15 October 2025Follow and subscribe to 'The Bench Report' on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes daily: thebenchreport.co.ukSubscribe to our Substack Shape our next episode! Get in touch with an issue important to you - Producer Tom will grab another coffee and start the research!Email us: [email protected] us on YouTube,  X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok! @benchreportUKSupport us for bonus and extended episodes + more.No outside chatter: source material only taken from Hansard and the Parliament UK website.  Contains Parliamentary information repurposed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0....