What is a notable tree?
It's a tree your council has picked out and named in a schedule to its district plan. In Auckland that plan is the Unitary Plan: notable trees are listed in Schedule 10 and protected by the D13 Notable Trees Overlay.
Councils use different words for the same idea. Christchurch lists significant trees in Appendix 9.4.7.1 of its District Plan. Dunedin's 2GP has a Scheduled Trees section. Tauranga says its protected trees may be called listed, notable or scheduled trees, and Hamilton's District Plan protects trees with significant heritage value.
The reasons vary too. Tauranga protects trees that are significant, historic, or important for the area or for preventing erosion, and Dunedin scores candidates on condition, amenity and notable features with the Standard Tree Evaluation Method (STEM).
Why the schedule matters so much in town
Since 1 January 2012, the Resource Management Act has stopped blanket tree protection on urban sections. A plan rule can only protect a tree on an urban section if the plan schedules it, which is why the list carries so much weight in towns and cities.
Being off the list doesn't settle it, though. Some plans also have rules about where a tree grows: Auckland's cover stream edges, wetlands, the coast, parks and roads. In Tauranga, a tree can also be protected by a condition on a resource consent, or by a covenant or consent notice on the title. Our tree removal consents page covers those wider rules.
Where each council keeps its list
| What it's called | Where to look | |
|---|---|---|
| Auckland | Notable trees, Schedule 10 (D13 overlay) | The Unitary Plan map viewer, then Schedule 10, which runs by district and street |
| Christchurch | Significant trees, Appendix 9.4.7.1 | The District Plan appendix and Planning Maps, or the council's Duty Planner |
| Hamilton | Protected trees with significant heritage value | The list of protected trees in the online District Plan (ePlan) |
| Tauranga | Listed, notable or scheduled trees | The Notable Trees Register in the online City Plan, the planning team, or your LIM report |
| Dunedin | Scheduled trees (2GP) | The 2GP, or the district plan team |
| Other councils | Varies by council | The district plan's tree schedule and planning maps, and the council's planning team |
How do I check my property?
Find the schedule and the map
Start with the table above, or search your council's district plan for its tree schedule. Auckland's planning maps show a notable tree symbol, read alongside Schedule 10; Christchurch shows its significant trees on the Planning Maps.
Look past your own boundary
Check the road reserve out front and the sections next door. Auckland's schedule includes street trees listed by road reserve, and its rules cover a notable tree's protected root zone (the ground its roots rely on) as well as the tree.
Read the LIM and the title
Tauranga City Council suggests a LIM report (Land Information Memorandum) as one way to check. Covenants and consent notices sit on the title.
Ask the council, and keep the answer
If it's still unclear, email the planning team with the address and a photo, and keep the reply. In Tauranga, call council and ask for the Urban Forest team.
What needs consent on a notable tree?
That's set council by council, and the plans are specific. Auckland's Unitary Plan treats removing a notable tree as a discretionary activity, which needs a resource consent, and council can decline it. Work in the protected root zone that the plan doesn't otherwise provide for needs consent too.
Auckland allows some trimming without consent, inside tight limits: no branch over 50 mm cut, no more than 10 per cent of live growth taken in a calendar year, and best arboricultural practice throughout. Dead wood removal has to be done by a qualified arborist, or it needs consent.
In Christchurch, pruning, gardening under or felling a significant tree beyond what the District Plan permits needs a resource consent. Tauranga says a protected tree needs consent to remove it, prune it, or build near it. Hamilton says its protected trees can't be removed, and that on private land you'll probably need a resource consent, so ring for advice first.
Dunedin is harder to pin down. The council's September 2015 report on the then-proposed 2GP said a scheduled tree would need consent for pruning with anything other than hand-operated pruning shears or secateurs, for removal, and for building or earthworks within its drip-line (the ground under the outer edge of the branches). The 2GP became fully operative on 17 June 2026, so check the current wording with the council.
Applying for consent
You apply through your local council, as before. The new planning law hasn't changed that: during the transition, councils keep processing resource consent applications under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Expect the application to lean on an arborist. In Auckland, council weighs the alternatives to touching the tree, the values it was listed for, any risk to people or property, the mitigation offered and whether the work follows best arboricultural practice. Its criteria include a tree works plan and whether a qualified arborist should supervise the job. An arborist report is where that thinking usually gets written down.
Does the new planning law change any of this?
Not yet. The Planning Act and the Natural Environment Act became law in September 2026, and the transition began in October 2026. Existing district plans stay in place while the new system comes in, and councils still monitor and enforce the current rules, with maximum fines for Resource Management Act offending raised sharply from 21 August 2025.
Councils' proposed new land use plans have legal effect in 2030. How they'll treat urban trees isn't clear yet, beyond the Government being able to set requirements for trees with significant historic heritage values, so the schedule in your current plan is the one that counts.
What you can do, and what to leave to an arborist
You can
- Check the schedule and maps for your section, the road reserve and next door
- Keep cars, building materials and new garden beds off the root zone
- Water it through a long dry spell
- Ask the council in writing before any work is booked
Leave to an arborist
- Any trimming, because the limits are tight and easy to misjudge
- Dead wood removal (Auckland's plan wants a qualified arborist)
- Digging, trenching or paving near the roots
- The tree works plan or report for a consent
Notable trees: what to do next
We'd check the schedule for the section, the road reserve and the neighbours' boundary before anyone quotes, and ask the council in writing if there's any doubt at all. If the tree is listed, we'd have an arborist look first, so the consent application goes in with a proper tree works plan behind it. And we wouldn't let any cutting start until the council's decision is in writing.
Want an arborist to look at it?
Tell us the job and your postcode, and a local arborist calls you to talk it through.