Tree removal in Padstow: what's local
The creek on the eastern edge
Salt Pan Creek, which feeds the Georges River, forms Padstow's eastern boundary, Wikipedia says. Citing the former Bankstown council, it notes mangroves along the creek's shores and coastal saltmarsh in the catchment.
Mangroves count at any size
Canterbury-Bankstown's DCP covers mangroves whatever their size, as it does threatened trees and trees on Biodiversity Map land. If your yard meets the creek, treat the plants at the water's edge as protected until council tells you otherwise.
Fire zones along the creek
The Canterbury Bankstown/Georges River bush fire plan lists asset protection zones at Salt Pan Creek and at two Little Salt Pan Creek sites, Curzon Road and Henry Kendall Avenue, all managed by council. Villiers Reserve in Padstow Heights and Starr Avenue Park were listed as Neighbourhood Safer Places when the plan was approved; the RFS website has the live list.
Wires overhead
The power network here is Ausgrid's. Its contractors keep street lines clear on their own schedule, so a branch resting on a wire is a call to Ausgrid, never a job for an arborist or a ladder.
Tree pruning and lopping in Padstow
Lopping is in council's rules by name. The DCP needs a permit to cut down, poison, ringbark or lop a protected tree, and to dig inside its tree protection zone. So a lopping job on a big tree is a permit job, the same as a removal.
Council also says approved work on private trees has to be done by an AQF Level 3 arborist, and that tree loppers haven't been trained to the same standard. If someone quoting calls themselves a lopper, ask to see their Certificate III in Arboriculture. The current code is AHC30824.
Questions to ask an arborist in Padstow
- Is the tree over 5 metres tall or near the creek, and who's lodging the council application?
- Can I see your Certificate III in Arboriculture and your public liability insurance?
- How will the tree come out through a narrow side passage, and where will the chipper sit?
- Is the stump included, and will services be located before any grinding?
- Where could the three replacement trees council usually asks for go on this block?
Hiring an arborist in Padstow
We'd stand at the back fence first. If the yard runs down to Salt Pan Creek or bush, we'd ring council before anything else, because the creek's plants can be covered at any size. Away from the creek, we'd estimate the height, and over 5 metres we'd lodge the application before booking the work.