Tree safety in Brooklyn
If a tree or limb has come down and anyone is hurt or at risk, call 111. Strong winds can drop trees and power lines together, so treat any line on the ground as live and keep 10 metres away. Report it to Wellington Electricity's emergency line. Leave hanging branches where they are until an arborist arrives.
Storm damage and fallen trees in Brooklyn
Brooklyn spreads over the eastern slopes of the hills above Happy Valley, 3 km south of the central city. Brooklyn Hill is 299 m, and Hawkins Hill behind it, at 495 m, is the top of the southern hills. A wind turbine went up on Polhill in March 1993 for good reason, and a bigger 900 kW machine replaced it in 2016.
NIWA says spring is usually the region's windiest season, while gales are most frequent in winter. A tall tree on an exposed Brooklyn section takes both. Survival through past storms says something, but splits, deadwood and a lean that's getting worse say more, and those are what an arborist checks.
Tree removal in Brooklyn: what's local
Central Park
Central Park was laid out on Town Belt land in 1913 and separates Brooklyn from the city. The Town Belt is owned by Wellington City Council, so trees on it are the council's, even where they shade your house.
Polhill and Tanera Park
Polhill Reserve, beside Zealandia, and Tanera Park are also Town Belt. If your section backs onto either, tell the council about a problem tree there rather than cutting it.
Houses from five decades
Brooklyn has villas from around 1895, bay villas from about 1910, bungalows from the 1920s and housing from 1930 to 1940. Gardens that old can hold big trees close to foundations, retaining walls and the lines.
Postcode and ward
Brooklyn is 6021, the same as Newtown, and sits in Wellington City Council's Paekawakawa/Southern General Ward. Brooklyn School on Washington Avenue opened in 1883.
Questions to ask an arborist in Brooklyn
- How will you get your gear onto the section, and the wood back up to the road?
- Will it come down in pieces, and where will each piece land?
- Is any part of the tree within 4 metres of a power line?
- What happens to the stump on this slope: ground out, or left to hold the bank?
- Is the clean-up in the price, and is that in writing?
- Have you or I confirmed with the council that the tree isn't protected?
Council tree rules in Brooklyn
We couldn't open Wellington City Council's tree pages, so we're not stating what its District Plan covers in Brooklyn. Ask the council about your address before work starts. One detail shows why it matters: Wellington Electricity says its 'clear to the sky' rule for bare lines only applies where the tree isn't protected under a district plan. Our Wellington permit page has the questions.
Hiring an arborist in Brooklyn
We'd walk the section after the next big northerly or southerly and note anything that moved, cracked or dropped limbs, then ring the council about the biggest tree on the list. Any tree near a line goes to Wellington Electricity first. Every quote should show how the job works on your slope.