New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

CAMDEN LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN NO 46 - REG 24

24 Protection of trees

(1) A person shall not ringbark, cut down, top, lop, remove, injure or wilfully destroy any living tree, or cause such a tree to be ringbarked, cut down, removed or wilfully destroyed, without development consent.

(2) Subclause (1) extends to a public authority except in relation to the pruning of a tree growing on, overhanging or encroaching onto land owned by the Council or under its care, control and management.

(3) If the Council receives an application for its consent as required by this clause, it must, within 14 days of receiving the application, give notice of it to the persons who appear to it to own or occupy the land adjoining the land to which the application relates if, in its opinion, the enjoyment of the adjoining land would be detrimentally affected by the action proposed in the application.

(4) The Council must specify in a notice under subclause (3) a period within which written submissions may be made to the Council concerning the application and must not determine the application until that period has expired and it has considered any submission received within that period.

(5) This clause does not apply to or in respect of:

(a) a tree declared to be a noxious plant or noxious weed by or under any Act,

(b) action required by clause 23 of the Electricity (Overhead Line Safety) Regulation 1991 ,

(c) a tree that harbours fruit fly,

(d) a tree that is dead,

(e) the following trees:

• Privet (Ligustrum sp)

• African Olive (Olea africana)

• Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)

• Lantana (Lantana camara)

• Coccus Palm (Syagrs rhomanzofianum),

(f) a tree located on land that is subject to a development consent for the erection of a building or the carrying out of a work that authorises the removal of that tree, or

(g) the destruction or removal of a tree within 0.5 metres of the boundary between land owned or occupied by different persons, for the purpose of enabling a survey to be carried out along that boundary by a surveyor registered under the Surveyors Act 1929 .

(6) The Council must not grant consent as required by this clause unless it has taken into consideration such of the following matters as are of relevance to the application:

(a) the aesthetic, botanical, environmental, historic and heritage importance of the tree,

(b) whether the tree presents or is likely to present a health or safety hazard to persons,

(c) whether the tree has damaged (or would be likely to damage) property,

(d) the extent to which the tree diminishes sunlight to habitable rooms in buildings and outdoor areas,

(e) whether the tree obstructs or would be likely to obstruct accessways, footpaths, roads, utility services, drainage lines or the like or would otherwise cause a nuisance to, or endanger the movement of, persons or their vehicles,

(f) the impact of the action or work on the appearance, health or stability of the tree and the general amenity of the surrounding area,

(g) in the case of an application for consent to remove a tree:

(i) whether the pruning of the tree would be a more practical and desirable alternative, or

(ii) whether a replacement tree or trees should be planted,

(h) guidelines, plans and policies adopted by the Council from time to time that are available for public inspection at the Council’s offices concerning the preservation and protection of trees, including those identified in:

(i) the document called “ Camden Significant Tree and Vegetated Landscape Study ”, or

(ii) plans of management or vegetation plans, or

(iii) tree management policies.