Important considerations:

• Trees - If you are planning to knock down trees, first check that they are not protected. A tree preservation order is made by the local planning authority - usually the local borough or District Council - to protect specific trees or a particular woodland from deliberate damage and destruction. To find out if your trees are protected, contact the local Planning Authority. If your trees are protected, you need written permission to remove them, or to do any tree surgery, or risk prosecution. Also make sure that existing trees or new trees that you plan to plant are not too close to your house, as tree roots can cause serious damage to the foundations.
• Walls - Garden and boundary walls should be inspected from time to time to see if any repairs are necessary, or whether a wall needs rebuilding. Such walls are amongst the most common forms of masonry to suffer collapse, and they are unfortunately one of the commonest causes of death by falling masonry. Your insurance policy may not cover you if the wall has been neglected.
• Water - A pond, water feature or fountain can provide focus, movement and interest to any size of garden. However it’s important to consider where this is sited. Talk to your builder about the accessibility to a water supply, the position and protection of electrical cables, the location of existing bedrock, pipe-work or septic tanks close to where you would like to have your water garden. Also if appropriate, consider how to make it as child-proof as possible.