Tree removal in Blackwood: what's local
Five Ways and the railway
Blackwood was established in 1879, took its post office name in 1881 and got its railway station in 1883. Five Ways corner, with its 1921 Soldiers' Memorial, is still the landmark everyone gives directions from.
Gardens and old gums
Wittunga Botanic Garden began in 1901 as a private property with English gardens and now grows Australian and South African plants. Through neighbouring Belair is Belair National Park, SA's first, with old red and blue gums.
Mitcham's hills edge
Blackwood sits in the City of Mitcham, among Belair, Eden Hills, Coromandel Valley and Craigburn Farm. Belair National Park shuts on Catastrophic Fire Danger days, which says plenty about summer up here.
Questions to ask an arborist in Blackwood
| Regulated tree rules | Native vegetation rules (CFS) | |
|---|---|---|
| What they cover | Council approval for a tree 1 metre or more around | Clearing native vegetation to reduce fire risk |
| The 20 metre test | Trees within 20 metres of a home in a Medium or High Bushfire Risk area, inside the bushfire overlay | Clearance out to 20m from a home, but not of large trees |
| Big trees | Significant from 2 metres around | Large from 2 metres around at 1 metre up; CFS approval needed between 10 and 20 metres |
| Who to ask | City of Mitcham | The CFS |
Common trees in Blackwood
The first test hangs on the bushfire risk area your address is in. We couldn't check Blackwood addresses, so look yours up on the SA Property and Planning Atlas, then put the question to the City of Mitcham in writing. SA's regulated tree approval applies even where native vegetation law might allow the work.
A big gum by the house isn't always a removal. Ask an arborist whether clearing deadwood (dead branches still on the tree) and lifting low limbs would deal with the worry. That kind of pruning has its own SA limits: dead, diseased or risky branches only, no more than 30% of the crown, and at least 5 years apart.
Trees and power lines in Blackwood
SA Power Networks keeps the clearance zone around public lines, trimming every year in bushfire-risk areas against every three years elsewhere. A line crossing private land that supplies more than one property counts as public.
Past your connection point, private poles and the lines between buildings are the owner's. SA Power Networks says to stop trees overhanging or touching them, using a qualified tree trimming contractor, and owners may be liable if a poorly kept line causes an incident. If anything is down or sparking, stay 10 metres back and ring SA Power Networks. More in trees and power lines.
Hiring an arborist in Blackwood
We'd get the atlas result for the address first, then ask the City of Mitcham and the CFS the same question in writing: can this tree come down, or be pruned, for fire safety. While those answers come back, an arborist can tell you whether deadwood removal and lifting low limbs would do the job, which keeps the shade and still takes fuel away from the roof.