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City of Wollongong

Community feedback sought on updated tree policies

Friday 2 December 2022

We want to make it easier for residents to plant and maintain trees on their property, and for us to collaborate with community on steps to improve our city’s tree coverage.

In line with our commitments within the Urban Greening Strategy 2017-2027 to grow and protect our city’s tree canopy to enhance the liveability of our city, we’ve reviewed three existing tree policies and brought them into a single document.

This Tree Management Policy is now out for community feedback, and we want to hear our residents’ thoughts about this updated approach before 16 December 2022.

“Many people in our community are very passionate about trees, their care and the role they play in our city,’’ Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said.

“We know that in a changing climate trees in our urban environment will only increase in their importance to offer much needed shade, cool our suburbs by as much as 10 degrees on hot days and to store carbon. We need to have a plan on how best to manage trees across our city so that our future generations are in the best position possible as we see more extreme weather conditions and weather events.

“Our updated Tree Management Policy is something everyone should have an interest in, so we’re encouraging residents to have an active role in supporting its implementation.’’

The new or updated elements within the Policy are:

  • Permits are required for removal of trees larger than 5 metres – or wider than 30cm at their base – on private land.
  • Trees removed from private land would be compensated. We will provide a Greenplan voucher for you to replant on your property, or you can pay into an urban greening fund for a tree to be planted on public land to grow the city’s urban canopy.
  • A self-service option will allow limited pruning of trees
  • A view assessment procedure will assess and document the potential impact of the proposed tree planting on the view from a property and balance this against the broader community benefit of increasing shade across our parks and streetscapes.

As we seek feedback on the Tree Management Policy, we’ve also updated chapters in the Wollongong Development Control Plan 2009. The updated chapters are;

  • Chapter E17: Preservation and Management of Trees and Vegetation
  • Chapter E18: Threatened Species Impact Assessment
  • Chapter B6: Development in the Illawarra Escarpment
  • Appendix 4: Definitions

These have been updated to capture State and Federal laws and policies for trees and vegetation.

“Council’s focus throughout this process has been to put in place to provide consistent direction for tree management across Council land and private property, to grow our tree canopy and minimise tree loss,’’ Wollongong City Council General Manager Greg Doyle said.

“We want to make it easier for residents to use our tree management services on a day-to-day basis and everyone’s voice is important as we work to finalise these documents. If you’re interested, take the opportunity to review these documents and provide feedback.’’

Council will also hold two online information sessions on Tuesday 6 December from 1.30-2.10pm and from 5-5.40pm. The 40-minute online session provide an opportunity to hear about the proposed changes and ask questions of Council staff. You can register on Council’s website.


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