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Trees are our most important natural assets. In addition to beautifying our streets, they clean the air, provide cooling shade, provide a habitat for birds and other animals, and create a healthy, resilient, livable city. We greatly value our urban forest and ensure we support it to be healthy and flourishing so the trees can continue to provide our community with all these benefits.
Street Trees
Street trees are council-owned trees planted on nature strips and median strips on nearly every street in Holdfast Bay. More than 100 different species have been planted over decades. The council currently aims to plant approximately 600 new street trees every year, with a preference to plant out whole streets in one go. This allows the new trees to be watered together and grow together, creating a pleasing look to the street. Many factors are involved in choosing the right tree for the right place.
Street Trees FAQs
Not necessarily. Our community expects the retention of all trees, which are rarely removed unless there are compelling reasons to do so.
A request for a tree assessment must be lodged. The assessment takes into account specific criteria, and the outcome will be the main deciding factor as to whether the tree will be removed.
Our Tree Management Policy states that healthy trees will not be removed for any of the following reasons:
- potential upheaval of public property/infrastructure
- potential to attract wildlife
- causing a nuisance by dropping leaves, fruit, seeds, nuts, bark, etc.
- the tree is in the way of a non-essential driveway
- aesthetic reasons, including personal distaste, shading of private property (including solar panels), and obstruction of view (other than traffic and pedestrian sightlines)
- perceived safety risk
- causing interference with utilities (it is the utility provider’s responsibility to address these matters)
Residents cannot remove, damage, or prune trees on council land.
View these short videos to watch council arborists respond to questions related to this:
We aim to plant hundreds of new and replacement street trees yearly. All street tree planting is undertaken during the year's cooler months, usually between May and September. Trees will be planted to create whole avenues of street trees that will, in time, grow in unison, creating a pleasing look. They are occasionally planted individually to replace damaged/dead trees and as part of succession planting.
Please note that private property owners cannot plant on public land. If you are interested in having a street tree planted in front of your property, please make a request through our Adopt-a-Tree program.
Regulated trees have a trunk circumference of 1 metres or more (measured at 1 metre above natural ground level). Significant trees are defined as trees with a trunk circumference of 2 metres or more (measured at 1 metre above natural ground level). Whether on private or public land, regulated and significant trees are protected under state government legislation. Where appropriate, we will continue to protect and maintain regulated and significant trees on council land.
We greatly value the canopy provided by these magnificent trees. However, we cannot assist with trees on private property, even if they are regulated or significant.
Not all trees will be drought resistant, however, we will always look to plant the most compatible tree for each location.
Watch this short video to find out how council arborists decide which trees to plant.
Only with approval via a Verge Application Form (Section 221 Application). However, homeowners are encouraged to participate in our Adopt-a-Tree program, through which we will supply you with a tree, plant it and prune it. See the Adopt-a-Tree page for more details.
If you would like to redevelop the verge outside your property, please complete a Verge Application and submit it with a detailed plan. There is no fee for applying.
Permitted verge treatments include lawn, mulch, small shrubs (under 500mm in height), and permeable surfaces such as permeable paving. We encourage using low plants to help cool and beautify your street. We provide a subsidy to Holdfast Bay residents for the purchase of local native plants via our Green Living Rebate, and you can find a list of suitable native species on our verges page.
Non-permeable paving and new installations of artificial turf are not allowed on verges.
More details are available in the Verge Management Policy. When you submit a verge application, we will confirm that your planned verge meets the required standards.
Council aims to proactively attend to every tree, issuing tree care to all trees requiring attention via our Block Pruning programs.
Most native or threatened species (and remnant vegetation) are protected by legislation such as the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. They can only be removed under certain circumstances.
When considering trees for your private property (i.e. your garden), please note that some trees and other plants are considered a biosecurity risk and are not allowed to be sold or moved or must be controlled to prevent them from spreading. These trees, some other plants, and some animals are ‘declared’ under the Landscape SA Act 2019, and you can find the full list of declared trees here.
If you see a tree in the council area that deserves recognition, you can nominate it for Tree of the Month. If you want a tree planted on your verge, you can sign up to Adopt a Tree. You can also keep an eye out for anyone damaging trees. Damaging trees is considered an act of vandalism and should be reported to police immediately and the council.
Watch this short video for some good advice from council arborists.
Block Pruning Program FAQs
Block pruning involves tending to all street trees within a given area or street.
Pruning will occur on all trees that require work in accordance with Council’s Tree Management Policy.
Block pruning allows Council to address resident requests more proactively and efficiently.
The proactive approach allows us to attend to all trees on a particular street, including those that may never be seen otherwise.
We hope a proactive approach will help make all our street trees as safe as possible for our community to enjoy.
Council will be pruning each tree to meet clearance requirements (where possible).
Pruning also helps to extend the lifespan of each tree, enhance its structural integrity, reduce the risk of falling limbs, improve its appearance, and promote healthy growth.
Both. Council currently undertakes similar work, but on a smaller scale—typically in response to residents' requests to prune a tree in front of their house or a tree that is causing them concern.
Block pruning allows us to adopt a more proactive approach, scheduling maintenance for each street every couple of years.
Yes. Residents will be notified 10 days before the planned block pruning begins.
Tree Canopy and Urban Cooling
Trees are quiet achievers and are vital in providing comfort, beauty, and health in our increasingly warm climate. Trees are also one of the most effective and efficient ways of adapting to a warming climate by providing significant cooling during our hot summers, and therefore, we have a target to increase the tree canopy in Holdfast Bay by 10% by 2030.
The benefits of tree canopy include:
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In 2018, we collaborated with the State Government and 15 other metropolitan councils on a major project to map Adelaide's metropolitan tree canopy in great detail. The results are publicly available on this State Government Urban Heat and Tree Mapping Viewer, which includes an urban heat map. The first page provides some information about the different layers of information you can access and to see the actual maps, click on 'Launch Map Viewer.'
In this viewer, you can zoom in to see the surface temperatures of your home, garden, or business that were captured on a day that was 39 degrees Celsius in 2018. You can also see the tree canopy in areas of interest to you.