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This was published 6 months ago
What actually happens if you chop down that verge tree? Well, it depends where you live
Perth’s local councils are not on the same page when it comes to protecting verge trees, with more than half not enforcing laws regarding them in the past two years, and others dishing out widely varying penalties ranging from warnings to $10,000 fines.
Trees on council land account for around 15 per cent of Perth’s suburban tree loss, with homeowners and property developers required to seek permission from their local government authority to remove a problem tree.
Sprawling Perth is Australia’s least-vegetated capital.Credit: Nearmap
And with Perth suffering the worst tree canopy coverage of any Australian capital city according to Nearmap, the West Australian Local Government Association is spearheading an attempt to improve things.
However, it seems some councils are taking a tougher stance on protecting verge trees than others.
The City of Joondalup issued the most infringements since the beginning of 2022, with 19 residents fined a total of $45,000 over that period for unauthorised removal of verge trees.
The fines varied from $150 to $10,909, with property owners on some occasions having to also foot the bill for the cost of the replacements.
In comparison, Joondalup’s neighbouring local council of Wanneroo issued no infringements over the same time period.
The north-eastern neighbouring councils of Bayswater, which has low canopy coverage, and Bassendean also differed significantly, with Bassendean issuing just one fine and 11 warnings compared to Bayswater’s nine fines.
City of Bayswater chief executive Jeremy Edwards said the council took a strong stance on the removal of trees, particularly during the development and subdivision process.
“Developers can be fined for removing street trees during construction without the City’s approval,” he said.
Canning was one of 16 councils which issued no penalties during the time period, however said it considered the unapproved removal of a verge tree as “an act of environmental vandalism”.
It comes after the southern suburbs council sparked an outcry from its own councillor when it voted against allowing an elderly couple, one of whom was an amputee, to remove and replace a verge tree that constantly dropped litter onto their garden.
Further south, the City of Mandurah declined to provide its statistics, but the council has been embroiled in conflict with some residents over their street trees, including one woman who has a large specimen in the centre of her driveway and another man whose verge tree roots continually damage his driveway paving.
Many councils’ default position is to protect the tree, and leave the owner to deal with the inconvenience.
“Council considers some inconvenience arising from street trees as a necessary consequence of living in an urban environment where trees deliver significant community benefit,” the Nedlands council policy states.
Town of Vincent Mayor Emma Cole said the council undertook a significant tree planting program each year to increase urban canopy.
“Paving verges and removing public street trees is at odds with our community’s strategic vision and the various initiatives and policies we have in place to support greening Vincent,” she said.
“So, in this rare case of unauthorised tree removal and paving the verge [see table], the City’s administration issued a penalty.”
The City of Melville was the only council to record a prosecution in relation to a verge tree, but it declined to provide details.
The City of Kwinana indicated it was drafting local laws to be able to address the unauthorised removal of a street tree.
A survey of Perth residents found most people were aware of Perth’s diminishing canopy, and cared about the issue, but it was often not a consideration when it came to deciding whether to plant or remove trees from their own property.
It found 80 per cent of those surveyed strongly agreed neighbourhood trees made a major contribution to local identity and character.
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