Common tree jobs in Newtown
Trams reached Newtown in 1879 and housing grew through the 1890s, when most residents were working families. The houses sit close together, which is lovely for a street and hard on an arborist. There's often no room for a chipper beside the tree, so branches come down in small pieces and get walked out along a side path, sometimes to a truck parked on a busy road.
None of that is a reason not to do the job. It's a reason to get quotes from people who have stood on your section, and to read how each one plans to get the wood out without wrecking the fence or the neighbour's garden.
Tree removal in Newtown: what's local
The zoo and Newtown Park
Wellington Zoo opened in 1906 on a hilly 13 hectare site in the green belt, with Newtown Park beside it off Roy Street. Trees on that side of your fence are on public land, so ask the council before touching them.
Street trees
Trees on the footpath and in the road reserve are the local council's to look after. If one is dropping branches on your car or lifting the path, report it with a photo.
Lines over the street
Overhead lines run close to old houses here. Anything that could put a person, branch or tool within 4 metres of a network line is a job for an authorised arborist, by arrangement with Wellington Electricity.
Postcode and ward
Newtown is 6021, in Wellington City Council's Paekawakawa/Southern General Ward, with Riddiford Street and Constable Street as its main streets.
Neighbours' trees in Newtown
Neighbour trees come under the Property Law Act 2007. You can cut back the parts of a neighbour's tree that cross onto your side, as far as the boundary, and any fruit on those branches still belongs to them. Talk to them first: it's quicker, and on sections this close you'll be neighbours for a long time.
If talking fails, you can ask the District Court to order the tree trimmed or removed, but judges are careful about it and the person who applies usually pays for the work. Neighbours' trees goes through the steps.
Questions to ask an arborist in Newtown
- Measure the narrowest point between the street and the tree, gate included.
- Tell the neighbours when it's happening, especially if branches hang over their roof.
- Ask whether a power line crosses the section, and whether it's the network or your own service line.
- Agree where the wood, chips and stump grindings will go.
- Get Wellington City Council's answer on whether the tree is protected before anyone cuts.
Trees and power lines in Newtown
Keep everyone 10 metres from a fallen line and ring 111. For branches tangled in network lines with nobody at risk, call Wellington Electricity.
Hiring an arborist in Newtown
We'd start with a friendly word over the fence, because most Newtown tree problems involve two sections. Then we'd check with the council that the tree isn't protected; its tree pages wouldn't load for us, so ask it directly. Our Wellington permit page lists what to ask. Last, we'd pick the arborist whose quote shows they've thought about the access.