Tree removal in Northcote: good to know
The Point is the peninsula that ends at Stokes Point, with Little Shoal Bay on its western side. Houses went up there between 1880 and 1910, and many 1880s villas are still standing, with gardens that have been growing for just as long.
Schedule 10 reaches right down to the water here. It lists groups of pōhutukawa on the land between the houses and the water along the eastern sides of Waimana Avenue and Princes Street, and a line of 26 pōhutukawa at the eastern end of Stafford Park. In the gardens it names English oaks on Clarence Road, Lombardy poplars on Princes Street, and pōhutukawa and Canary Island date palms on Hall Street.
Trimming a notable tree without consent is limited: no branch over 50mm across, no more than 10 per cent of live growth in a calendar year, and the work has to keep the tree's natural shape. Our notable trees guide explains the rest.
Tree removal in Northcote: what's local
Bush that survived
Kauri Glen, a steep bush reserve set aside in 1907, has a listed kauri, and Eadys Bush on James Evans Road is listed as a native bush group. Smiths Bush in Onewa Domain is old kahikatea and taraire forest, though a big part of it went in 1959 for the motorway.
Streams coming back into the open
Hillcrest Creek and the Onepoto Stream run east to Shoal Bay, and work to bring the piped Awataha Stream back to the surface began in 2019. Vegetation within 10 m of an urban stream needs consent to alter or remove under rule E15.
New homes going in
The Unitary Plan makes Northcote a key intensification area, with about 1,700 homes planned in the 2020s alongside Te Ara Awataha. Build close to a notable tree and its protected root zone (the ground around the roots, which the rules also cover) comes into play.
Listed street trees
Pin oaks are listed along the Lake Road road reserve and a row of poplars on College Road. A tree whose trunk stands in the road also needs Auckland Transport's approval for any work.
Stump grinding in Northcote
When a tree comes out, the stump is usually ground down with a stump grinder, a machine that chews the wood into chips below ground level. Before any grinding starts, lodge a beforeUdig enquiry: the pipe and cable plans come from the asset owners, generally within two business days, and beforeUdig says not to start until they arrive.
On a site next to a listed tree, ask before the grinder goes in. Work inside a notable tree's protected root zone that the plan doesn't otherwise provide for is a restricted discretionary activity. NZ Arb's safety guide says a running stump grinder must never be left unattended, so keep children and pets inside until it's packed away. Our stump guide covers what's left afterwards.
Hiring an arborist in Northcote
On the Point, search Schedule 10 by street before anything else, and if the section runs down to the water, treat the pōhutukawa below the house as protected until Auckland Council tells you otherwise. Off the Point, check for a stream at the back and a listed tree next door, then get one written quote that covers the removal, the stump, the beforeUdig check and the clean-up together.