Storm damage and fallen trees in Dee Why
The Bureau of Meteorology says east coast lows can bring damaging to destructive winds and heavy rain. If a tree comes down, call 000 if anyone is hurt, and the NSW SES if it's on the home or blocking the way out. Report any wire that's down to Ausgrid and give it at least 8 metres. Leave split or hanging branches alone until an arborist has seen them.
Tree removal in Dee Why: what's local
The lagoon
Dee Why Lagoon Wildlife Refuge covers 77ha, about 30ha of it water, with 47 hectares above the high tide mark that include remnant bushland. Council says it holds several threatened ecological communities, and endangered Swamp Oak Floodplain Forest grows around the lagoon's fringes.
A garden in an old quarry
Stony Range, at 810 Pittwater Road, was a disused stone quarry in the 1950s and became a Regional Botanic Garden of Native Bushland in 2007. Its 3.3 hectares sit on Hawkesbury Sandstone escarpment, and it's a good place to see local natives growing on sandstone before you choose a replacement tree.
A canopy priority
Council's 2023 Tree Canopy Plan names Dee Why among the suburbs prioritised for more canopy, and council keeps planting 5,000 trees a year across the area. Its tree permits come with replanting conditions, so plan where a new tree would go.
Crews on the wires
Ausgrid's trimming program listed Dee Why in both October and November 2026, so expect to see contractors working along the street lines.
Tree removal permits in Dee Why
Council's permit list takes in heritage items and trees in heritage areas, threatened species and their habitat, endangered ecological communities, and trees a development consent says must stay. Removing protected trees, native vegetation or bushland needs consent, and that matters on any block near the lagoon.
An approved permit has to be shown at the front of the property while work is underway, and it lapses 12 months after issue. Council won't approve lopping or topping. The Northern Beaches permit page has the detail.
Hiring an arborist in Dee Why
Near the lagoon, we'd treat every native tree as protected and get an arborist's written view before asking council about anything bigger than a light prune. For a tree that looks ready to fail, council wants written confirmation from an AQF Level 5 arborist that it's high risk, with a copy sent to council, so we'd book that report first.