Tree removal permits in Caulfield
Glen Eira's Canopy Tree Protection Local Law treats a tree as a canopy tree if it's a palm over 8 metres tall, has a stump 140 cm or more around at ground level, or stands over 5 metres with a trunk of 140 cm or more measured 140 cm up. Trunks are added together on a multi-stemmed tree.
For a canopy tree on private land, a permit is needed to remove, damage, prune or carry out works within its Tree Protection Zone. The law counts topping, lopping, ringbarking and poisoning as damage.
The state's canopy tree clause sits on top of the local law. When a tree meets both, Glen Eira says the planning scheme prevails and you make one planning application. The Glen Eira permit page explains both routes.
Tree removal in Caulfield: what's local
Classified Trees in Caulfield Park
Glen Eira's Classified Trees Register includes a Lone Pine (Gallipoli) tree, a Holm Oak and an Algerian oak in Caulfield Park, plus a Kauri Pine on the island in the park's lake. Any Classified Tree, public or private, needs a permit for removal, root zone works or pruning beyond 10 per cent of its volume.
Grand houses, older gardens
Caulfield grew fastest from 1900 to 1920, and Caulfield North still has the Labassa mansion in Manor Grove. Caulfield South has kept much of its detached housing, and older detached homes with established gardens are the ones most likely to have a tree big enough to count.
The racecourse and the park
Caulfield Park, near the racecourse that ran the first Caulfield Cup in 1879, is Caulfield's main sports ground. A park or street tree is council's to look after, so a worry about one is a call to Glen Eira, not a job to book. See council street trees.
Lines in the street
Much of Melbourne's south-east runs on United Energy's network. A branch on a street line is theirs to clear, not an arborist's.
Tree jobs you can do yourself in Caulfield
You can
- Measure the trunk 140 cm above the ground, and note whether it's one trunk or several.
- Photograph the whole tree and any damage, especially after a storm.
- Rake up, mulch and water, and keep people and cars clear of a split limb.
- Snip small growth you can reach from the ground with secateurs or loppers.
Leave to an arborist
- Anything above head height or that would need a ladder.
- A tree that's leaning, cracked or dropping limbs, and the written evidence council asks for.
- Work inside a protected tree's root zone during building, which Glen Eira only permits with a qualified arborist present.
Hiring an arborist in Caulfield
Check two lists before anything else: the canopy tree size test and the Classified Trees Register. If the tree is on either, lodge the request and let council's arborist look at it; Glen Eira says Local Law applications are assessed within 14 calendar days. If removal is approved, leave room in the garden for the replacement, because one is the standard condition.