Guidelines for Pruning & Removing Trees in Manningham

Our tree specialists, also known as Arborists or Loppers, provide a range of services throughout Manningham to help residents and the community to preserve a healthy urban forest. These tree services include trimming, tactical lopping, canopy shaping, tree cutting, stump extraction and tree health assessments. 

The urban forest throughout the City of Manningham provides the community with a range of unique benefits. From reducing the effects of urban heat and providing clean oxygen, to their beautiful aesthetic value and the important role they play in the ecosystem. It’s for these reasons that the Council of Manningham have rules that regulate the pruning and removal of trees, to ensure that tree works are carried out in a way that will preserve the balance of the environment and the character of the region. 

While most people are aware of the crucial role that trees play in the environment and all of the wonderful contributions that they make to our community, many people are unaware of the dangers posed by trees that have degenerated through age, sickness or neglect. Trees left unmaintained can grow unevenly, causing them to become imbalanced and a serious risk of falling. The chances of these imbalanced trees crashing to the ground is greatly increased during storms; heavy rains can loosen the soil around the roots and base of a tree while strong winds can take hold of their branches and canopy like a sail. 

Despite an awareness in the community of these risks during storms, many people are oblivious to the fact that sick, damaged or unkempt trees can lose their structural integrity and fall without the force of a storm. Trees left unpruned and without the assessment of a qualified Arborist can be dangerous to nearby residents, pedestrians, traffic, wildlife and property. Excess foliage on branches can lead to more than falling leaves and a cluttered garden. This extra weight on the limbs can put a strain on branches and increase the chances of them snapping. On overhanging branches, this falling foliage can damage roof tiles, block gutters and cause leaks. While regular assessment and maintenance from a local tree specialist might seem costly, it is a far cheaper alternative than trying to fix the greater problems to your garden and your property that can come from a neglected tree. The cost of tree removal depends on the multiple factors, our professional arborists take all variables into account for tree pruning and removal services.

Tree Pruning & Removal Regulations

The Manningham Council regulates the pruning and removal of private trees through restrictions provided by the local Planning Scheme. Various overlays within this scheme prevent residents and homeowners from undertaking work on their trees, including removal, lopping and substantial pruning, without a permit being approved by the Council. The overlays that provide the strongest tree protections are:

• Environmental Significance Overlay (ESO)
• Vegetation Protection Overlay (VPO)
• Significant Landscape Overlay (SLO)
• Heritage Overlay (HO)

The specifics of each overlay and the protections that they offer to private trees can be found in the hyperlinks. To determine which overlays are relevant to your property, the Victorian Environment, Land, Water and Planning website has an interactive map of the Manningham Planning Scheme that can assist. 

If your property is within one of these overlays and you require a permit to commence treeworks, all of the information you need on the permit application process can be found here.

It is important to familiarise yourself with these overlays and tree protections, not just to ensure that you are preserving the natural character of the community and the balance of the ecosystem, but also because there are steep fines for violating these laws. Residents responsible for the removal of trees and other vegetation without a permit can incur fines of up to $140,000.

Arborist Insights

Our local Tree surgeon, who has been running a Jim’s Trees Franchise since 2013, took some time out of his day to answer some questions about taking care of trees in the Manningham region. 

How often should trees be pruned?

Every tree is different, it depends on things like the species, the location etc. Hedges should definitely be maintained every 6 months to a year, to stop them growing out of control.

What are some of the hazards you have to overcome when removing a big tree? 

Some of the big obstacles are obviously branches overhanging roads – if it’s over a road you obviously get traffic control who deal with a lot of that. Around houses, you know where you have swimming pools, tight access – they’re probably the most complicated parts. A dead tree over a house can be challenging too. 

How do you get around those problems?

Well you have to rope everything down, rig it all pretty small and just take your time, you can’t drop anything big, just rope everything down and lower it with a rope. It takes a bit more time, but yeah you just take it easy. 

Do you do much in the way of stump grinding and mulching as well? 

Yeah we do mulching and stump grinding. Around 30% of the work we do involves stump grinding. Most people don’t care about a stump.

What are the main reasons for removing a stump? 

If you want to do work there, or excavate, or plant something else. If a stump is close to a house it can push the foundations, or push a fence over, damage pipes and that sort of stuff – they’re the main reasons why our clients want to get stumps removed. 

Why should people choose Jim’s?

The name, the brand, the work ethic, taking pride in our work. Every in Jim’s takes pride in what they do, and they all have that same work ethic and standards. Other companies can get away with sub-par quality, but we can’t get away with that because we’re a franchise. So I think that’s what makes us better than the rest of the tree services out there.

Cutting to the Chase

Preserving the health and safety of the urban forest in Manningham is a top priority for our Arborists, for the local Council and should be for residents too. Through services like health assessments, pruning, lopping, shaping, removal and stump extraction, our team can help to maintain the health of your private trees and remove the trees that are intrusive, obstructive or hazardous. The regulations for removing or lopping private trees are enforced through the overlays within the local Planning Scheme. In this article we have provided links to all the necessary information on those laws, as well as to the information on applying for a permit. For clarification on any of these regulations, or to check whether these laws apply to your property, it is recommended that you contact the Council. To speak with a professional Arborist, or to start work on your trees, contact Jim’s today.  

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