Tree removal permits in the Hills District
Loosely, the district runs from the M2 Hills Motorway north to the Hawkesbury River, between Old Windsor Road and Berowra Creek. Most of it sits in The Hills Shire, but parts of Castle Hill and Dural are in Hornsby Shire, and a corner of Baulkham Hills is in the City of Parramatta.
Hornsby's rules are on our Hornsby permit page, and Parramatta's on the Parramatta permit page. For The Hills Shire and the Hawkesbury, start with our NSW permit page, then ring the council.
The Hills Shire and Hornsby Shire, side by side
| The Hills Shire | Hornsby Shire | |
|---|---|---|
| What counts as a tree | A woody plant with a spread over 3 metres, a height over 6 metres or a trunk over 300mm at the base | Any long-lived woody plant with the potential to grow taller than 3 metres |
| Pruning | Consent needed to prune more than 10% of a tree | Check council's online decision tool before any pruning |
| Ground work near a tree | Consent needed to substantially change the soil level within 3 metres of the trunk | A permit for slabs, driveways, walls or trenching in a protected tree's protection zone |
| After an approved removal | A replacement tree planted on the property for each one removed | A replacement native to the Shire, of like habit, planted near the old one |
Tree removal in the Hills District: what's local
Blue gums in the south-east
The RFS says the south-east of The Hills Shire is dominated by Sydney blue gum and blackbutt, with lilly pilly and figs underneath. Both gums grow very tall, and a big one beside a house comes down in sections with ropes or a crane, which is arborist work.
Red gums and grey gums to the north
Tall forest of forest red gum and grey gum covers much of the central and northern Hills. Turpentine, ironbark and stringybark turn up where the old Cumberland Plain Woodland gives way to forest on the slopes.
Hilly blocks
The district is named for its hills, where the Cumberland Plain climbs to the Hornsby Plateau. A slope changes how a tree can come down, where a truck can park and how far the wood has to be carried.
A spring fire season
North-west winds in late spring open the bush fire season, says the RFS, and the serious fires tend to come between then and autumn. The Hills says the 10/50 code applies to parts of the Shire; our 10/50 guide explains how it works.
Mostly Endeavour Energy
Endeavour Energy lists The Hills Shire in its franchise area. Hornsby Council says most of its Shire is on Ausgrid, with some western parts on Endeavour.
Hiring an arborist in the Hills District
Find your council, then measure the tree before you ring anyone: spread, height, and the trunk at the base. If you're on bush-edged acreage and the job is about bushfire, run the RFS 10/50 tool on the day and keep the result. And have the arborist come out, because sloping Hills blocks are hard to judge from photos.