Tree removal in Botany: good to know
Botany Downs was still farmland in 1959 and became suburban housing in the mid-1970s. Dannemora followed in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the Botany Town Centre opened in 2001. So the trees in most gardens went in with the house, and fast growers planted back then can now be far bigger than the section suits.
The likely jobs follow from that: a tree too close to the house or the boundary fence, roots lifting a path or the drive, a hedge that has turned into a wall, and stumps left from an earlier removal.
Tree removal in Botany: what's local
Creeks and green fingers
Botany Creek runs west through Botany Downs to the Pakuranga Creek, and Barry Curtis Park in Flat Bush is part of a network of parks along about 45 km of streams and creeks. If your back fence meets one, the Unitary Plan's 10m urban stream rule can apply to vegetation on your side.
Puke-i-Āki-Rangi
Dannemora's high point is Puke-i-Āki-Rangi, a 142-metre hill also called Point View. Sloping sections around it can make access for a chipper or stump grinder harder, so mention the slope when you ask for a quote.
Notable trees nearby
Schedule 10 lists a mixed group on Botany Road, recorded under Howick, with plane, Norfolk Island pine, pōhutukawa, liquidambar, weeping willow, magnolia and camellia, plus a pūriri on Flat Bush School Road. Removing a scheduled tree needs consent.
Berm trees
Removing a tree whose trunk is in the road needs consent if it's over 4m tall or 400mm in girth, and Auckland Transport has to approve work on it. If a berm tree is the problem, report it rather than cutting it.
Tree jobs you can do yourself in Botany
You can
- Prune twigs and small branches you can reach from the ground with secateurs, loppers or a pruning saw
- Keep a young tree's lower branches clear of the path and drive as it grows
- Photograph any new lean, crack or fungus near the base, and date the photos
- Lodge a beforeUdig request before any digging or grinding near pipes and cables
Leave to an arborist
- Any removal, and anything that needs a ladder, climbing gear or a chainsaw
- Grinding out stumps near the drive, the fence or the house
- Root pruning near paths and foundations
- Anything near the power line to the house or along the street
Hiring an arborist in Botany
Ask what the tree will look like in ten years, not just today. A healthy young tree that's simply in the wrong place is a much smaller job now than when it's twice the size. If it's near a creek or on the berm, check the Unitary Plan rules first, then get the removal and the stump grinding quoted together so the space is ready to replant with something that fits.