Environment

On this page:

• Verge trees
• Street trees
• Trees on private property
• Trees and infrastructure

Trees are an integral part of our built environment and provide many benefits to surrounding amenity, health and well-being, and biodiversity protection.

The City recognises the importance of trees in our urban environment and our Urban Forest Strategy outlines the City's vision and principles for maintaining and improving the urban forest within the City

Did you know that an increase in canopy can help lower summer temperatures by up to 5 degrees?

Planting street trees on our verges is one of the important ways we are working towards achieving this goal for cool, healthy communities.

• Living around trees can aid and improve mental and physical health. 
• Trees provide oxygen and help remove pollutants from the air.
• Canopy cover produced by trees provide shade and habitat for wildlife. 
• Having trees within the verge and private property increases amenity and value of our homes.
• Trees can cool areas by up to five degrees and can reduce cooling costs in the home.

You can help with greening your suburbs, by planting suitable trees and vegetation or request a free verge tree by completing our Verge Tree Planting Request online form.

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Verge trees

Every year the City of Wanneroo plants around 3500 new trees. 

City of Wanneroo homeowners can request a free tree to be planted on the verge adjacent to their property.

Verge Tree Request forms need to be submitted by the 30 April each year with trees then planted the following winter.

If you would like to request a tree for your verge fill out a form by clicking below:

• Verge Tree Planting Request online form

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Street trees

Planting

Each year the City plants around 3500 new trees on verges and in parks and reserves. Young trees are watered by the City for the first two years after planting. Pruning and maintenance is actioned on request, or as identified by a City officer.

Street tree pruning

Street trees under power lines are pruned annually to ensure community safety. The City does not prune street streets to reduce its size for any other reason. More about the Citys street tree pruning requirements can be found in the Street Tree policy.

If a street tree requires pruning please contact the City. Residents are not permitted to prune street trees.

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Trees on private property

The City encourages residents to plant and maintain trees  suitable for their location. Issues between neighbours is a civil matter and the City will only become involved if the tree maybe dangerous, for example dead, dying, diseased or structurally unsound. 

It's best to talk to your neighbour if you have an issue with their tree to work together to resolve it. Trees on property are a civil matter, and if an agreement can not be reached, you can contact the Citizens Advice Bureau. There is more information on this issue on the Legal Aid website.  

If a tree has branches or roots that encroach onto your property, you are entitled to carefully remove the material up to your boundary, however the materials removed still belong to your neighbour and should be returned or disposed of with their consent. 

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Trees and infrastructure

Tree root growth in the urban environment is unpredictable and roots do not follow boundaries and can cause a number of situations in the urban environment:

• Damage to light-built structures such as concrete footpaths, brick paving’s and low walls.
• Tree root damage may cause the distortion of building as the developing tree root takes up soil moisture.  There is usually multiple factors contributing to the movement of foundations and are seldom associated with tree root growth alone. These claims of tree root damage must be accurately investigated.
• Leaking pipes can create an environment that encourages tree root growth to benefit from the moisture available. 

The City will look into issues associated with tree roots including: 

• Damage from public trees will be investigated. 
• The City will implement appropriate solutions to reduce the risk of damage to infrastructure  where applicable. 
• Tree removal will only be considered if this is no practical arboricultural solution. 
• Every effort will be taken to ensure that replacement and future public trees will not themselves result in similar damage to infrastructure.
• The City will not remove trees for unfounded claims of damage from tree root activity.

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