Split down the middle
Epping is one suburb under two councils. Part of it sits in the City of Parramatta and part in Hornsby Shire, and the two run different development control plans with different tree size thresholds and exempt-species lists.
That matters more than it sounds. Advice that applies on one side of the boundary may not apply on the other, and neighbours comparing notes across a street can both be right. Confirm which LGA your address falls in before relying on anything.
A suburb being rebuilt
Epping has seen sustained high-density redevelopment since the rezoning around the station and the Epping to Chatswood rail link. Apartment blocks have replaced large numbers of interwar and post-war houses on generous blocks, and the mature trees on those blocks have been in the middle of it.
The consequence for tree work is that a lot of it is development-related rather than maintenance. Removals are assessed within development applications. Consent conditions name retained trees and specify protection zones.
Those retained trees are where the money is lost. Root-zone compaction from machinery and stockpiled material, root severance for footings and service trenches, and changed drainage all cause damage that appears one to three years after handover. By then the tree is failing and the consent condition requiring its retention has effectively been breached. Fencing the protection zone properly before work starts is cheap by comparison.
The trees
Epping sits on the Wianamatta shale ridge that runs north from Parramatta, and the original vegetation was Blue Gum High Forest and Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest. Both are critically endangered and fragments survive — on road reserves, in the bushland reserves along Devlins Creek and Terrys Creek, and on residential land.
A tall Sydney blue gum, blackbutt or turpentine on a suburban Epping block may therefore be protected at state level regardless of what the council's base threshold says. Have the mapping checked.
Alongside them, the usual garden stock: camphor laurel, liquidambar, jacaranda, privet and cocos palm, with the weed species among them generally the easiest approvals.
The work
Reduction pruning to AS 4373 where a canopy has grown over a roof, crown lifting for driveway and footpath clearance, and deadwooding on the mature eucalypts, which is the highest-value routine work on any large gum.
Not topping. Cutting a blue gum back to stubs produces weak epicormic regrowth that becomes a bigger problem within a decade, and on a protected remnant it is likely an offence.
Access
Generally reasonable on the residential streets — driveways and side gates that take a machine. The bushland-edge blocks along Devlins Creek and Terrys Creek fall away sharply, which reintroduces the hand-carry problem. Apartment sites bring the strata question: common-property trees need an owners corporation decision first.
Nearby
Hornsby covers removals in the shire, Pymble is north along the ridge, and the North Shore region page covers the councils.
Ring (02) 9000 1943, or read what lopping should mean.
Other numbers for this area
You can also reach us on (02) 9538 7842. Either number reaches the same team - tell us the suburb and what the job involves and we will get an arborist out to look at it.
Frequently asked questions
Which council covers my Epping property?
It depends which side of the boundary you are on. Epping is split between the City of Parramatta and Hornsby Shire, and the two have different development control plans with different tree thresholds and exempt lists. Check your rates notice or the NSW planning portal for your address before working from any general advice about the suburb.
Can a tree be retained through an apartment development?
It can, and consent conditions increasingly require it. Whether it survives is another question. Compaction of the root zone by machinery and stockpiles, roots cut for footings and service trenches, and altered drainage kill retained trees over the following one to three years. A properly fenced tree protection zone established before work begins is what makes the difference.
Are there protected remnant trees in suburban Epping?
Yes. The shale ridge through Epping carried Blue Gum High Forest and Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest, both critically endangered, and fragments survive on residential land and road reserves. A tall Sydney blue gum, blackbutt or turpentine on your block may be part of a listed community and protected regardless of the council's base threshold.