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Trees and Our Urban Forest

We are responsible for trees on City-controlled land as well as implementation of our Urban Forest Strategy, which seeks to protect, preserve and enhance the leafy character and natural biodiversity of our City. Find out more below.

Verge Trees

We are responsible for planting, pruning, replacing and maintaining verge trees. You cannot plant, prune or remove a verge tree without our approval.

Request a Free Verge Tree

You can request a free tree for your verge as part of our Urban Forest Strategy. Trees will be planted in the winter planting season for requests submitted before December the previous year. We have 9 common street trees that are planted within our City. To view more information on these trees see the Common Street Trees within our City below. 

Request free verge tree

Request Tree Pruning or Maintenance

To request pruning or maintenance of a verge tree fill in our online form. We aim to respond to all requests within 5 working days.We will not prune trees for the following reasons:

  • The tree is disliked
  • The tree partially or wholly obstructs views
  • The tree is perceived to present a risk of harm
  • The tree is perceived to aggravate health concerns
  • The tree produces leaf litter, flowers, fruit and bark
  • The tree attracts unwelcome fauna and associated issues
  • The tree is perceived to be inappropriate for the site

Request street tree pruning or maintenance

Request Removal of a Verge Tree

A tree will be considered for removal if:
  • The tree is deemed unsafe by us
  • The tree is dead or in irreversible decline
  • The tree is damaged beyond remediation
  • The tree is inappropriate for the site

Contact us to request the removal of a verge tree.

Disputing a Rejected Request for Removal of a Verge Tree

If we reject your request for the removal of a verge tree you can approach your ward councillors and Mayor to discuss the concerns about the tree. If the ward councillors and Mayor agree with the request, we will prepare a report for Council, who will then decide whether the tree is removed.

Report Health of a Tree

If you are concerned about the health of a tree please let us know so we can investigate.
 
Report the health of a street tree

Our Urban Forest Strategy

The Urban Forest Strategic Plan 2017-2036 was created to bring our Urban Forest and Green Spaces Policy to life, looking to protect, preserve and enhance the leafy character and natural biodiversity of our City. Since it's adoption in 2017, the City of Melville has taken steps to  help renew our aging tree population and increase canopy cover in targeted areas.

In October 2024, the Urban Forest Strategy Review was adopted by Council. This review acknowledges our achievements, addresses ongoing challenges, and underscores the vital role of collaboration between the City and the community in managing our urban forest.

Read the full report

This review sets new targets, including the ambitious goal of boosting City-wide canopy cover from 12.5% to 15% over the next decade. Alongside these ambitions, the review highlights that a joint effort between the City and the community is essential to sustain our urban forest and achieve a green, sustainable future, with 45% of our urban forest located on private land.

It’s why we’re currently seeking community input as part of our Tree’s on your land community engagement, to better understand public preference to how these trees are managed. Click here to read more or take part in the community engagement.

Tree Expansion Program

Our tree expansion program involves planting trees on vacant verges and other public land to increase our overall canopy coverage. Planting trees on public land helps build climate change resilience within our community by helping to reduce urban heating.
 
Each year we focus on different suburbs for our tree expansion program. Through this program we plant a variety of tree species to assess the ability of different trees to survive in a warming and drying climate. This information is used to inform our future planting programs and ensures a healthy and diverse urban forest
 
In 2024 we are focussing on selected streets in the following suburbs:
  • Kardinya
  • Winthrop

Tree Succession Program

Our tree succession program provides for the replacement of trees that have come to the end of their life span due to age or declining health. Tree succession involves planting a young tree next to an aging tree to enable the younger tree to grow to a substantial height before the mature tree completely declines, however if space is limited, we may need to remove the aging tree which would be replaced with a young tree.
 
See garden guru, Sabrina Hahn explaining our tree expansion and succession programs in this short video.

Tree Vandalism and Unauthorised Tree Removal or Pruning

It is an offence to purposefully vandalise or damage any trees on City-controlled land, including pruning or removing trees located on verges.

If you see a vandalised tree or someone vandalising a tree please contact us so we can investigate.

If you prune or remove a street tree without our permission, we may issue an infringement and you may be liable for all costs associated with remediating any damage or removing and replacing the tree. For further information on infringements see our Tree Policy.

Trees on Private Land

We do not currently regulate trees on private land, though we encourage retention where possible as these trees form a significant part of our urban canopy. 

Whether a tree on a private property is cut down, or not, is the decision of the property owner. We can only investigate trees on private land if they pose an immediate safety risk.

Issues with Encroaching Roots and Branches

If the tree is located on private property, then this would be classed as a civil matter.
 
For civil matters, we suggest contacting the Citizens Advice Bureau. They can be contacted via phone on (08) 9221 5711 or via email on queries@cabwa.com.au.
 
On their website they also have a page dedicated to issues with encroaching roots and branches. For further information, view the page here
 

Trees and Developments

We have certain rules surrounding the protection of verge trees when developing a site. It is the responsibility of the developer to ensure all contractors and site managers are aware of our rules as to avoid any infringements.
 
For more information about our rules around trees and developments see our Tree Policy.

 

Common Street Trees within our CitySwipe to see more

Botanical NameCommon NameSpecies Guide
Agonis flexuosaWA PeppermintPeppermint tree species guide
Brachychiton populneusKurrajongKurrajong tree species guide
Eucalyptus cladocalyxSugar GumSugar Gum tree species guide
Jacaranda mimosifoliaJacarandaJacaranda tree species guide
Liquidambar styracifluaLiquidambarLiquidambar tree species guide
Lophostemon confertusQueensland Box TreeQueensland Box tree species guide
Platanus x acerifoliaLondon Plane TreeLondon Plane tree species guide
Ulmus parvifoliaChinese ElmChinese Elm tree species guide
Corymbia ficifoliaAlbany Red Flowering GumAlbany Red Flowering Gum tree species guide
Sapium sebiferumChinese TallowChinese Tallow tree species guide
Fraxinus griffithiiEvergreen or Flowering AshEvergreen or Flowering Ash tree species guide
Eucalyptus sideroxylonIronbarkIronbark tree species guide
Angophora costataSydney Red GumSpecies Guide not available 
Brachychiton acerifolia x populneusBella DonnaSpecies Guide not available 
Bauhinia spp.Bauhinia Species Guide not available  
Callistemon harknessBottlebrush 'Harkness' Species Guide not available 
Callistemon KPSKings Park Special BottlebrushSpecies Guide not available 
Callistemon viminalisWeeping BottlebrushSpecies Guide not available 
Citharexylun spinosumFiddlewoodSpecies Guide not available 
Corymbia eximiaYellow BloodwoodSpecies Guide not available 
Cupaniopsis anacardiodesTuckerooSpecies Guide not available 
Eucalyptus meliodoraYellow BoxSpecies Guide not available 
Eucalyptus todtianaPrickly BarkSpecies Guide not available 
Eucalyptus torquataCoral GumSpecies Guide not available  
Eucalyptus victrix Western CoolibahSpecies Guide not available 
Gleditsia 'Shademaster'ShademasterSpecies Guide not available 
Melalueca leucadendraFine leaf PaperbarkSpecies Guide not available 
Melalueca viridifloraWeeping Red Flowering PaperbarkSpecies Guide not available 
Pistachia chinesisChinese Pistachio Species Guide not available 
Pyrus sp.Ornamental PearSpecies Guide not available 
Quercus suberCork OakSpecies Guide not available 

Trees available only on request and suitability

Botanical NameCommon NameSpecies Guide
Eucalyptus marginataJarrahJarrah tree species guide
Eucalyptus gomphocephallaTuartSpecies Guide not available 
Corymbia calophyllaMarriSpecies Guide not available 
Lophostemon confertusQueensland Box TreeSpecies Guide not available 
Metrosideros excelaNew Zealand Christmas TreeSpecies Guide not available 
Cinnamomum camphoraCamphor LaurelSpecies Guide not available 
Fruit and Nut TreesMacadamia, Pecan and AlmondSpecies Guide not available 

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