How tree removal works in Rouse Hill
Check the rates notice
Rouse Hill falls within two local government areas. The council named on your rates notice is the one whose rules apply to your trees.
Measure the tree that council's way
The two tests are in the table below. Height, spread and trunk width are measured differently, so write all three down.
Read the title and the approval
The Hills says its exemptions don't apply where a development consent, or a covenant on the title such as an 88B instrument, requires a tree to stay. Your conveyancer can pull a copy of the title.
Ring the right council
That's either The Hills Shire or Blacktown City. Have the measurements and a couple of photos ready.
Tree removal permits in Rouse Hill
| The Hills Shire | Blacktown City | |
|---|---|---|
| What counts as a tree | A woody plant spreading over 3 metres, taller than 6 metres, or with a trunk over 300mm at the base | A plant over 3 metres tall, or with a trunk wider than 200mm at 1.0 metre above ground |
| Pruning | Consent needed to prune a tree by more than 10% | Pruning, lopping and root cutting all need consent |
| A tree you think is dangerous | Call council to ask what evidence its Tree Management Team needs | Council says only an AQF Level 5 consulting arborist can declare it |
| Heritage or bushland lots | Exemptions stop in threatened ecological communities | A development application, not a permit |
Tree removal in Rouse Hill: what's local
A colonial garden in the middle of it
Richard Rouse built Rouse Hill House between 1813 and 1818, and its geometric garden is said to be probably the oldest surviving one of its kind in Australia. If your own lot is a heritage item, tree work there goes through a development application rather than a simple permit.
Woodland next door
NPWS says Rouse Hill Regional Park, once the house's paddocks, carries broad-leaved apple, grey box and forest red gum, the trees of Cumberland Plain Woodland, plus endangered shale sandstone transition forest. A big old gum on a nearby block may be a survivor of that bush, so treat it as protected until council tells you otherwise.
Picked because it stays drier
The NSW Government chose Rouse Hill for growth in 1986, mainly because it was less prone to flooding than the land around it. Much of the suburb is newer estates as a result, where trees planted with the house are now reaching the sizes councils protect.
Lines and service wires
Both councils sit in Endeavour Energy's area. A tree touching a street line is Endeavour's to fix, and everyone should stay back. Keeping branches clear of the service wire to your house is the owner's job, and it's work for someone qualified to prune near lines.
Hiring an arborist in Rouse Hill
We'd confirm the council before measuring anything, because a tree under one council's line can be over the other's. Then we'd ask the arborist to measure it the way that council does and put the figures on the quote, so the application and the quote describe the same tree.