Willoughby Council and a changing suburb
Chatswood sits on the Wianamatta shale ridge in Willoughby Council, between Lane Cove National Park to the west and Middle Harbour to the east. Willoughby applies protective tree controls — not quite Ku-ring-gai, but firmly at the protective end of Sydney councils, with a moderate size threshold and a short exempt list.
What makes Chatswood distinctive is the pace of redevelopment. The suburb has been rebuilding continuously for decades: apartment towers through the commercial core, and knock-down rebuilds across the surrounding residential streets. A very large share of the tree work here is driven by construction rather than by anything wrong with the tree.
Development-driven work
If a tree is coming out because a house is coming down, the removal is normally assessed within the development application rather than as a standalone tree permit. The consent will list which trees may be removed and which must be retained, and it will usually specify tree protection zones for the retained ones.
Those protection zones matter. Retained trees are routinely killed by construction rather than by the saw: compaction of the root zone by vehicles and stockpiled materials, root severance for footings and service trenches, and altered drainage. The tree looks fine at handover and declines two years later. Fencing the protection zone before work starts is far cheaper than the replacement planting a council will require afterwards.
The trees
Shale ridge species: Sydney blue gum, blackbutt and turpentine as remnants, some of them substantial, particularly on the western side falling toward Lane Cove National Park. Willoughby also holds fragments of Blue Gum High Forest and Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest, both critically endangered, which carry protection beyond the council rules.
In the garden and street canopy, the usual North Shore mixture: camphor laurel through the older streets, jacaranda, liquidambar, brush box and a lot of cocos palm. Camphor and cocos are generally the easiest approvals.
Strata trees
A large proportion of Chatswood is apartments, which changes who can authorise the work. Common-property trees belong to the owners corporation, and the decision usually needs to go through the committee or a general meeting. Individual lot owners cannot authorise work on common property, and a crew arriving on that basis will be turned away.
For strata jobs, expect to need a scope that covers the whole site rather than a single tree, since mobilising once for several trees is markedly cheaper.
Access
The commercial core has almost no working room — restricted parking, loading zone hours and constant traffic mean early starts and permits. The residential streets to the east and west are more workable, though the ground falls away toward Middle Harbour and Lane Cove River at the edges, which reintroduces the gully-block hand-carry problem.
Nearby
Hornsby and Wahroonga sit north along the same ridge, Mosman and North Sydney Council to the south, and the North Shore region page covers the councils.
Ring (02) 9000 1943, or read the removal service page and the cost guide.
Other numbers for this area
You can also reach us on (02) 9090 4915. 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
Who authorises tree work on a Chatswood apartment block?
The owners corporation. Trees on common property are the strata scheme's responsibility, so you will usually need a committee resolution or a decision at a general meeting before anything happens, and a Willoughby Council permit on top if the tree is protected. Starting with the strata manager avoids booking a crew that then cannot proceed.
Do I need approval to remove trees for a knock-down rebuild?
Tree removal for a development is normally assessed as part of the development application rather than as a separate tree permit, and the consent conditions will specify exactly which trees may go and which must be retained and protected during construction. Removing a retained tree after consent is a breach of the consent, not a minor matter.
Can construction damage a tree that is being kept?
Easily, and it is the most common way retained trees die. Compacting the root zone with vehicles and stockpiles, cutting roots for footings or services, and changing drainage all do serious damage that shows up one to three years later. Tree protection zones exist for that reason and should be fenced before work starts.