Published on 05 December 2014
Tree management guidelines have been eased, with residents no longer needing a permit to remove trees within three metres of their home, and more species added to a list of trees that do not require a permit.
Hills Shire Mayor Clr Andrew Jefferies said the changes were reflective of community expectations and were a common sense approach to tree management.
“People move to The Hills because it is a peaceful, leafy green area with one of the widest tree canopies of any local government area in NSW,” Mayor Jefferies said.
“That being said, we want to reduce red tape and allow residents the option to remove trees that cause damage to their homes or would be likely to be approved for removal.”
Council receives more than 1400 applications for tree removal on private land per year with approximately 80 per cent of applications approved. The updated guidelines reduce red tape as they exempt trees that are very highly likely to be approved for removal.
Mayor Jefferies said that 57,273 native trees and shrubs had been distributed from Council’s nursery at Ted Horwood Reserve in the 2013-2014 financial year.
“Our nursery produced 57,273 native trees or shrubs that were either planted, given away to residents or sold throughout the year.”
“That shows Council’s commitment to maintaining and improving our tree canopy. We know that residents by and large love the fact that we have a lot of trees and that these changes will result in less red tape for residents.”