Storm damage and fallen trees in Geelong
Keep everyone back from it, and from any wires it's touching. Call 000 if anyone is hurt or trapped, and the SES if the tree has damaged your home or blocks the way in or out. Report wires to Powercor. An arborist comes after that, once it's safe.
Tree removal in Geelong: what's local
One council, planning rules
The City of Greater Geelong says certain properties and areas have planning scheme provisions on removing private trees. Its tree removal page sets out the clause 52.37 canopy tree permit, which it says applies in all residential zones except the Low Density Residential Zone. The page doesn't mention a tree local law for private land.
Wind is the big one
The council's emergency plan rates storm as a high risk. On 13 February 2024, gusts as high as 150km/hr brought trees down across Anakie and Lara. On 29 October 2021, gusts of more than 100km damaged trees across Geelong and the Bellarine, and a tornado tore through Waurn Ponds and Grovedale on 20 May 2020.
Bushfire country to the north
The Brisbane Ranges are heavily forested, as is the area around the You Yangs, and a fire on 14 January 1985 burnt 90% of the You Yangs. Some Geelong land is in a Bushfire Prone Area, some under the Bushfire Management Overlay, and some both. A VicPlan property report shows which.
Street trees stay with council
The council looks after about 190,000 trees and says residents can't remove street or park trees. Pruning one without approval is an offence under its Neighbourhood Amenity Local Law, so report a problem street tree to the council instead.
Powercor's lines
Council inspects its own trees near powerlines each year. For a private tree near the lines, the council's FAQ says to contact Powercor directly.
Tree removal in Geelong: good to know
The council itself names elms for their heritage value, lemon-scented gums along Brougham Street, palms along Moorabool Street and hoop pines on the waterfront. Private gardens carry the same mix of old exotics and big natives, plus whatever the last owner planted along the fence.
Much of the city sits on basalt that weathers to highly expansive clay, and the emergency plan notes Fyansford clays across Belmont. Clay that swells and shrinks is worth mentioning to the arborist when a big tree is close to the house, the driveway or the pipes.
Common tree jobs in Geelong
After a blow, it's split limbs, hanging branches and trees leaning on fences. Between storms, it's pruning to lift branches off roofs and lighten crowns before the next windy spell, and removals of trees that have outgrown small blocks. A removal usually leaves a stump, and stump grinding is the common next step.
If a removal is near the street frontage or back fence and the tree is over 5 metres tall, the canopy clause is likely to come up. The Victorian permit page explains how it works, and the council can tell you which controls apply to your address.
Hiring an arborist in Geelong
We'd pull a VicPlan report first, because it answers the canopy, overlay and bushfire questions in one go. Then we'd have an arborist look at anything big that leans toward the house before spring winds arrive, and ask them to put in writing who's lodging any permit.