Am I allowed to plant a tree on the grass verge?

[FannyPriceless]

Has anyone any experience of planting anthing on the grass verge? Do I need to get permission? If so from whom? Parish Council, District Council, or County Council?

I don't think you can as it's not yours . It's the council. They would want to know who will upkeep etc. tbh can't you put one in your garden?

Is the verge yours?
If it's just outside your house but not within your curtailage you don't own it and can't plant on it.
You could approach your council but there will be issues with maintenance, highways sight lines and public liability and it is likely that they will not be receptive.
If you are in a village you could ask via the Parish council which might be more receptive.
If it's your land, you can plant there but still need to consider the above issues.
If it obstructs sightlines emerging from driveways then you may be asked to remove it as a matter of highway safety.

We've planted along our wall, on a grass verge. It's looks lovely. We didn't get any permission, but several houses round here have done it. A tree though? I think it's asking for trouble not to get permission!

If its not in the boundary of your title or lease its not yours. The first 1.5 metres of the verge belongs to the highway if its adopted. I think what you are looking at is guerrilla gardening? You have 2 options, plant the tree at risk of council or landowner mowing it down, or speak to the Parish Council and ask for their views. It really depends on positioning. In my village there was a trend of putting white stones on the verge to stop cars pulling on until the Parish Council advised that persons willfully doing this might be found liable for damage to cars and people. So if you stick a large new tree in a highways visibility splay, you might expect issues to follow.....albeit guerrilla gardening does look good in the right place

if you are trying to stop parking on it, speak to the council. It is their verge and they may be able to do something. They won't put up bollards or add rocks, because then the person that stupidly drives into them will blame them. But they may be able to add a small hump at the edge to discourage the less brainless drivers.

It might be in a visibility splay - so you could end up in hot water. Especially if the land is part ot thehighway. Legally it will be classed as an obstruction in the highway. Not good if someone crashes into it.

Plus, verges are often the service strip. So the gas main, high(ish) voltage electricity, phones, water main could all be under there. You really don't want to be responsible for problems there. Worst case is if its roots grow round all the services, then the tree blows/ is knocked over and damages all of them.....££££££££

Check with the council. If it isn't on a service strip and won't cause visibility issues they might well not mind.

Parish councils tend to be responsible for prettifying the place so I'd start with them .permission would need to come from whoever is responsible for the highway - highways agency for a trunk road ( unlikely ) county council for other roads, but the parish council may well have the name of someone you can contact directly.

You need permission from whomever is responsible for maintaining the road I believe.
Most councils are open to planting them, especially if you are prepared to fund the tree. It's the ongoing cost of the tree surgery and people whinging about sweeping up leaves that is more of an issue.