Apeldoorn is the green capital of the Veluwe. We’re proud of that! One of the reasons we deserve this title is because there are so many beautiful trees in our municipality. Most of the trees are located in the Veluwe: in our woods, hedgerows and canal banks. But there are also plenty of trees in our town and villages. Along streets and avenues, and in the town parks and streamside areas, you’ll find many different species of tree. There are also many trees on private land.
The council is responsible for managing no fewer than 75,000 trees in public green spaces. We do everything we can to ensure that trees grow to a ripe old age in good health. This means that we maintain and regularly inspect the trees. If a tree is not growing properly because it is not in suitable soil, we improve the conditions around the tree. If a tree is diseased or poses a safety risk, we take action by pruning or felling it. To ensure that our woodland areas remain diverse and sustainable for the future, it is sometimes necessary to prune trees back or, conversely, to allow them to die back naturally. We also plant new trees every year to ensure there are enough trees left.
On hot days, trees provide cooling shade. This is important for the environment, for both people and animals. Due to climate change, it is becoming increasingly important to have enough trees per square metre. In cities in particular, it can otherwise quickly become too hot.
Trees also literally provide air, as they convert CO₂ into oxygen. So trees are very important!
Trees are protected. This means you are not allowed to fell them without good reason. This also includes heavy pruning, known as ‘candelabra pruning’. The protection of trees is regulated by the General Local Regulation (APV).
You therefore need a felling permit for any trees you wish to fell. When assessing a felling application, the council weighs up the importance of felling the tree against the importance of leaving it standing. Factors such as danger, disproportionate (very serious) nuisance or a compelling public interest may constitute grounds for felling a tree. Reasons for keeping trees standing include, for example, Apeldoorn’s green character, providing shade in the neighbourhood and the tree’s value to nature.
For more information on applying for a tree-felling permit, please visit the page on tree felling.
Please note! As of 1 September 2024, the regulations concerning trees in Apeldoorn have changed. From that date, there will no longer be any areas exempt from the requirement for a felling permit, and the requirement for a felling permit will apply throughout the built-up area.
As of 1 September 2024, the rules in Apeldoorn regarding the distance between trees and property boundaries have been amended. The minimum distance between a tree and the property boundary is now 50 centimetres. A tree may be planted closer only if there is agreement with the neighbours. There is no longer a minimum distance requirement for hedges.
When planting trees and hedges, it is always important to consider how large a tree will become once it has fully grown. A beech tree might become too large for a small back garden. Furthermore, the roots and branches may eventually spread well beyond the neighbours’ boundary. Pruning is allowed, but not to the extent that the tree is disfigured or becomes unstable.
Are you the owner of a registered Special Tree? Maintaining such a tree often requires specialist knowledge. Apeldoorn Council can assist you with this. There is a Grant scheme for special trees which you can make use of.
Would you like to make your street or neighbourhood greener? Do you know of a place in your neighbourhood where you’d like to see more greenery? Or do you have a lovely, creative idea of your own for making your street or neighbourhood greener? This could be a neighbourhood garden, for example, or a green play area. Please let us know. We’ll work on it with you. We welcome all initiatives that can help make Apeldoorn greener. Further information about the Green Initiative.
Is garden maintenance becoming too much for you? Are you unable to afford help with this? If so, please contact De Kap to request minor garden maintenance. This could include simple pruning or raking up leaves.
Another organisation that can help you with garden maintenance is Zorgsaam Apeldoorn (assistance for members, subject to a fee).
Would you like to help people for whom garden maintenance is becoming too much of a burden? If so, you can also register with De Kap or Zorgsaam.
The Apeldoorn Standard-Tree Brigade (HSB) is an enthusiastic group of volunteers who have been working independently since autumn 2023. The aim of the HSB is to work towards the conservation of standard fruit trees.
If you’re interested in joining this pruning team, or if you have standard fruit trees and have no idea how to prune them, then you can contact get in touch with them.
There are many different types of trees growing in Apeldoorn. Are you curious to find out which ones they are? Then take a look at the map. If you click on a tree, you’ll immediately see what species it is.
Further information on the tree policy can be found in the Forestry Policy Document 2024–2040 (PDF, 3.95 MB)
This map shows the locations in Apeldoorn where trees are being felled and planted. The information shown may differ slightly from the current situation.
Our arborists check whether trees are able to grow properly. We assess whether the tree is healthy and has enough space to grow. We may need to prune a tree, or the site may require additional fertiliser or aeration. In some cases, felling is unavoidable.
The aim of work carried out on trees in woodland areas is to make them more diverse and future-proof. A uniform woodland area – whether in terms of species or age – is more vulnerable to disease and is of less value to plants and animals. It may therefore be necessary to allow certain trees to die by ‘girdling’ them, pruning them back to the trunk, or even felling the tree. We do this to give plants, shrubs and other trees the chance to grow.
In places where it is appropriate to do so, such as in woodland parks, we increasingly leave dead branches on the ground or dead trees standing. We do this because old and dead wood is extremely valuable in nature. It provides a habitat for a wide variety of life, from rare fungi to bats and from beetles to lichens. So, if you see a dead tree lying in the woods or a park, there’s a good chance that our ecological managers have left it there on purpose.
Further information on dead wood.
To ensure we have enough healthy trees in our municipality, we need to replace and replant a number of trees every year. Sometimes this is necessary because a tree is too old or diseased. Sometimes it is also unavoidable that a tree has to make way for something else, such as a road, a building or even another tree. Where possible, we replant one tree for every tree that is felled. We sometimes do this in the same spot, and sometimes elsewhere.
When planting new trees, we naturally take great care to improve the growing conditions, so that the right tree is planted in the right place. A tree needs just as much space underground as it does above ground. This means that we sometimes replant fewer trees, but the trees we do plant are given a good, more spacious growing environment. This allows them to grow to a healthy size.
The council often receives requests to prune trees. We usually prune a tree once every 3 to 5 years, unless, for example, the tree poses an immediate danger to the surrounding area. Our tree inspector regularly inspects trees in public spaces and determines whether pruning is necessary. You can find more information about when we do and do not prune trees on the page on pruning trees.
For example, when houses are being built or a street is being redesigned, this can have an impact on existing trees. With this sort of spatial development, it is important to carefully assess whether the existing trees can be incorporated into the plan. It is also important, whilst the work is being carried out, to ensure that the trees we wish to preserve are not damaged – both above and below ground.
Sometimes trees define the character of a street. The local council is gradually replacing trees that define the character of a street. Think of neighbourhoods with lots of large, old trees. When replacing trees, we will, more often than in the past, plant a mix of different species and ages. We do this, for example, to prevent diseases or pests from spreading from tree to tree. Think of the oak processionary caterpillar. By planting different species of trees, we are investing in extending the lifespan of trees and in biodiversity.
Trees need nourishment. This nourishment consists of sunlight and CO₂ from the air, supplemented by oxygen, water, minerals and nutrients from the soil. Nature has a good system for this. Leaving fallen leaves on the ground ensures that, once the leaves have decomposed, the tree can reabsorb the nutrients. Where this is not possible – for example, for road safety reasons – it is sometimes necessary to provide trees with additional nutrients, such as lime or tree fertiliser.
In the city, underground space is limited, due to things such as sewers, cables and pipes. In such cases, we create space by planting the tree in what is known as an underground ‘tree bunker’. It’s a sort of large flowerpot buried underground. This way, the tree and its surroundings do not interfere with one another. In this way, Apeldoorn retains its green character.
The oak processionary caterpillar is the caterpillar of a moth. People and animals can be severely affected by the oak processionary caterpillar in summer. In addition to their normal white hairs, these creatures also develop stinging hairs. Contact with these can cause itching, a rash and irritation to the eyes or airways. We are doing a great deal to prevent the caterpillars from developing. We are trying to attract the caterpillar’s natural predators, such as birds and certain species of wasp. However, we cannot prevent everything. Have you spotted a nest of oak processionary caterpillars? You can report the location to the local council. We will then remove them from the tree. Further information can be found on the page ‘Nuisance and hazards caused by animals’
Do you have a question? Or would you like more information?
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