Tell us the job

Newcastle suburbs

Tree removal in Kotara and Kotara South

Tree removal, pruning and stump grinding in Kotara, matched to a local arborist.

Kotara is split between the City of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, so the first step in any tree removal here is working out which council your block falls under.

  • We match you with the local arborist who does your kind of job.
  • Tell us the job once, and the arborist who takes it calls you.
  • Storm damage and fallen trees flagged urgent.

Tree job in Kotara?

What needs doing?

If anyone is in danger, call 000. For storm damage to your home, call the SES. Then tell us the job.

Only one local arborist gets your number.

A worker in a helmet and earmuffs standing on a lawn, pruning a branch overhead with a long pole saw

Matched by the job, not just the postcode

A big gum over a roof, a stump and a council report are different jobs, so the job comes first.

Only one local arborist gets your number.

Your contact details go to one arborist for your job, so you deal with one person.

Storm jobs flagged urgent

Pick storm damage and the arborist sees it marked urgent. If anyone is in danger, call 000 first.

Council rules before the cut

Many councils protect bigger trees. The permit guides cover every state, so you can check first.

What happens next

A local arborist calls you.

Tell us the job

  1. Tell us the job

    What the tree needs and your postcode. A few taps.

  2. We pass it on

    To a local arborist near your postcode.

  3. They call you

    They talk it through, usually see the tree, and quote in writing. You decide.

Tree removal permits in Kotara

Kotara and Kotara South share postcode 2289, so the postcode won't settle it. The suburb is split between the City of Newcastle and the City of Lake Macquarie, and Kotara South is on Lake Macquarie's side: it appears on Lake Macquarie's 2017 Significant Tree Register, and Ausgrid's trimming list files it under Lake Macquarie City Council. Your rates notice names your council.

It matters because the two councils start from different places. Newcastle looks at the tree's size. Lake Macquarie looks at whether it's a native or an Araucaria pine, then sends you to its online tool.

Tree pruning and lopping in Kotara

City of Newcastle sideKotara South (Lake Macquarie)
Which trees are looked atDCP 2023 declares a tree at least 3m tall, or with a trunk diameter of 15cm or more at 1.4mNative trees and Araucaria pines; council's assessment tool answers for your address
Arborist reportA consulting arborist (AQF5) report when a declared tree is to be removedAn AQF5 report from an arborist with no arrangement to remove the tree, for register trees, heritage trees and reviews
Street treesOnly the council can maintain, prune or clear trees in road reservesThe nature strip is council land; ring council
PruningAS 4373-2007, by someone trained to at least AQF Level 3 when no permit is involvedCutting a neighbour's native overhang past 10% of its canopy needs an application, and a qualified arborist

Tree removal in Kotara: what's local

Blackbutt Reserve on the doorstep

City of Newcastle's Blackbutt Reserve is at Carnley Avenue, Kotara, 8.5 km from the CBD. It grew out of a Kotara subdivision that collapsed in the depression, and Newcastle City Council has been its trustee since 1938. If your block adjoins mapped bushland, Newcastle's DCP can ask for an ecological assessment before trees come out.

A garden suburb

Kotara was laid out as a garden suburb and grew fast after 1947. On the Newcastle side the DCP's height line is low, so treat almost any established garden tree as covered and ask before cutting.

A smooth-barked apple in Kotara South

Lake Macquarie's 2017 register lists an Angophora costata, the smooth-barked apple, in Stuart Street, Kotara South. A register tree needs development consent before it's removed or lopped.

Trees Newcastle won't replant

Newcastle's Urban Forest Technical Manual lists coral tree, rubber tree, willow, cocos palm, privet and camphor laurel as undesirable replacement trees. If one of these is your problem tree, say so when you ask council, and ask what it wants planted in its place.

Storm damage and fallen trees in Kotara

Treat any wire a branch is touching as live and stay 8 metres away. Report it to Ausgrid. A tree that has hit the house is one for the NSW SES, and anyone injured means 000 first.

Hiring an arborist in Kotara

Check the rates notice before ringing anyone, then follow that council's process from the start rather than mixing the two. On the Newcastle side, if a declared tree is coming out, line up the AQF5 report early, because council needs it. In Kotara South, run Lake Macquarie's tool and save the result before asking for quotes.

Tree removal in Kotara and Kotara South: common questions

Who looks after the trees in Blackbutt Reserve?

The City of Newcastle. It maintains all public trees and takes requests for a public tree inspection, so ask for one if a reserve tree worries you. Don't prune it yourself, even where it hangs over your fence.

Is Kotara South in the City of Newcastle?

No. Kotara South is in Lake Macquarie City Council, and Kotara itself is split between the two councils. Both use postcode 2289, so your rates notice is the surest check.

What does Newcastle's DCP count as clearing?

Cutting down, uprooting, killing or poisoning a tree, and also lopping or removing a substantial part of it. A heavy prune on a declared tree is a permit question, so check the Newcastle permit page first.

Need an arborist in Kotara?

Pick the job and give your postcode, and a local arborist calls you.

Tree job in Kotara?

What needs doing?

Only one local arborist gets your number.

Tree services across Newcastle

Tree removal in NewcastleTree pruning in NewcastleStump grinding in Newcastle

Arborists near Kotara

Tree permits in New South Wales

More on tree removal in Kotara and Kotara South

Sources

Tree rules change, so check with your council before anything is cut. How we write and check these pages.