Overview
Liverpool City Council has developed the Tree Management Framework that comprises three separate documents:
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- The Tree Policy;
- The Tree Management Strategy; and
- The Tree Management Technical Guidelines.
The Tree Management Framework was developed by Council, in conjunction with expert consultants in Landscape Architecture, Consulting Arboriculture, Site Planning and Urban Design to establish a comprehensive and industry leading strategic and procedural framework for the installation, protection, management, and maintenance of our trees.
Project Background
The Tree Management Framework, and its three documents will replace Council’s outdated Tree Management Policy 2016. The existing Policy aimed to maximise and promote the preservation and management of trees on both public and private land within the LGA. However, alone it struggled to encompass the variety and complexity of tree related issues faced by Council, including aligning with our broader strategic vision, setting tree planting and canopy targets, meeting current state government objectives, educating the community, acknowledging the value and benefits of trees and providing best practice technical guidelines for all aspects of tree management.
The opportunity to rejuvenate Council’s tree management processes was boosted by the NSW Government’s Urban Greening initiatives and Greener Neighbourhood Grant Program which endeavors to strengthen councils’ strategic urban forest management and target a 40% urban canopy coverage by 2036 - to create a cooler and shadier Greater Sydney.
The Tree Management Framework also delivers on Council’s Community Strategic Plan 2022-2023 objective ‘Environmental’ by helping to mitigate urban heat, enhancing the overall health of our urban forests, increasing biodiversity, combatting climate change and improving sustainability and environmental resilience within our LGA.
Why is the Tree Management Framework needed?
Currently, the Liverpool LGA has an approximate 23% tree canopy cover average, with 37 of the 43 suburbs having less than the average and two thirds having below 15%. When compared to 33 other local government areas within Greater Sydney, the Liverpool LGA is placed 17th.
However, large expanses of natural and rural areas – such as the Holsworthy Defence site - at 62% canopy cover, impacts this data. When excluding Holsworthy, the LGA’s estimated average is much lower at around 15%, which ultimately places us at 29th out of the 33 Councils within Greater Sydney.
As such, the Liverpool LGA (and Western Sydney in general) experiences higher temperatures and is subject to the impacts of the urban heat island effect, which negatively influences the community and environment. This emphasises the importance of trees and their role in our community and the urban environment.
Trees are a vital part of mitigating the climate emergency and Western Sydney’s high vulnerability to urban heat. Immediate and ongoing action is required as physical conditions and targets will only become more difficult as time goes on. It is important we act now and act decisively.
Trees provide a broad range of environmental, social, economic and health benefits. Our most highly valued streetscapes, plazas and parks commonly have well-grown and established trees that contribute significantly to the character of an area and create a sense of place for the community.
Higher canopy streets and neighborhoods have also been shown to make housing more desirable, helping to attract higher rents and sale prices. In addition, there are many mental and physical wellbeing benefits associated with shadier and greener outdoor spaces – that in turn facilitate and encourage more active and healthier lifestyles within the community.
Local Councils are governed by a combination of federal, state, and local legislation that requires the management, protection, and maintenance of trees within their jurisdictions. By enhancing the strategic management of our urban forest, integrating comprehensive tree-related provisions into planning instruments and development controls and providing best practice technical guidance for the installation, protection, management, and maintenance of trees, Council is not only fulfilling its legislative obligations, but actively working towards a more sustainable, livable and green city for Liverpool.
About the Tree Management Framework Documents
The Tree Policy (The Policy) has been developed to align with current local and state government objectives, targets and initiatives to ensure the comprehensive governance and management of trees within the LGA.The Policy ensures the Tree Management Framework will align with Council’s broader strategic vision, establish tree planting and canopy targets, meet current state government objectives, provide opportunities to educate the community on the value and benefits of trees and deliver best practice guidelines for the installation, protection, management, and maintenance of trees.
Crucially, the Policy redefines Council’s definition of a Tree and establishes definition of a Protected Tree, to help combat ongoing issues faced by Council relating to the prohibited removal of trees on both public and private land.
The Policy establishes Council’s priorities under the following core topics:
- Tree Protection and Preservation;
- Tree Planting and Species Selection;
- Tree Maintenance and Removal;
- Risk and Asset Management for Trees; and
- Community Consultation and Involvement.
Furthermore, it outlines new information in relation to tree compliance, and it includes information for tree disputes, prohibitions, enforcement, damages, fines, and other tree related processes.
The Tree Management Strategy (The Strategy), assesses our tree assets, analyses internal and external factors affecting the management of trees, and develops the following ten (10) strategic directions to guide Council’s overarching approach to tree planning and management:
- Manage Trees as Assets;
- Increase Canopy Cover;
- Best Practice Management;
- Manage Tree Risks;
- Link the Green and Blue;
- Promote Private Trees;
- Build Capacity;
- Community Engagement;
- Manage Development Impacts; and
- Policy Alignment.
These directions feed into respective actions that will guide Council to:
- establish best practice standards and processes for mitigating the effects of climate change and urban heat, through increased and improved tree canopy;
- highlight the importance of canopy cover in creating a healthy and more liveable and resilient urban environment;
- increase the diversity of trees within our urban areas while still selecting trees that are suitable for the local conditions and future climate;
- improve the health and longevity of our trees;
- improve the soil and ground conditions to enable trees to grow successfully;
- identify opportunities to maintain and increase canopy cover;
- improve our urban ecology; and
- as a tool to obtain funding for future tree planting initiatives.
A vital part of the framework, the Tree Management Technical Guidelines (The Guidelines) is a technical document providing the practical guidance and procedures for the carrying out all tree-related management decisions including requirements for tree related design, selection, and installation as well as the following procedures for the assessment, management, and maintenance of our trees. The Guidelines will be a crucial tool used by Council staff, land managers, contractors, the community, and developers for the best practice management of trees within the Liverpool LGA.
The Guidelines will specifically provide directions and standards for managing trees and tree-related requests, actions and the standards required for the removal, pruning and planting of trees on Council land. It will provide a standardised approach to ensure uniformity and consistency in the maintenance and management of all trees within the LGA.
The detailed sections of the Guidelines cover Tree Preservation, Tree Planting, Species Selection and Tree Maintenance and include standard drawings and specifications to guide the practical installation of trees in a wide variety of scenarios on both public and private land within the Liverpool LGA.
Targets of the Tree Management Framework
The Tree Management Framework establishes Council’s LGA wide canopy target of 30% by 2050 – which will be achieved this in two stages:
- 28% canopy cover to be reached by 2035; and
- 30% canopy cover to be reached by 2050.
These ambitious but realistic targets reflect Liverpool’s current situation and have been set with consideration of the expected and inevitable canopy loss resulting from rapid urban expansion and development occurring across the LGA. It also acknowledges the realistic prospects of introducing a significant quantity of new tree planting within the LGA, when Council manages less than 9% of the total land area.
However, these broad canopy targets do not represent a homogeneous canopy cover percentage for all areas of the LGA, as the ability to meet canopy cover targets consistently across the LGA is determined by targets set for different land uses, zoning and categories.
For example, a development in a recreational and environmental zone would be subject to a much higher canopy cover target than a business zone. In some suburbs that are less densely developed, such as Holsworthy, higher percentages of canopy cover. Parks and open spaces will offset the deficiencies in other areas by achieving much higher canopy cover can be achieved. Highly urban areas such as the Liverpool City Centre, will only achieve a more moderate cover, as they are limited in their planting opportunities and often have harsher growing conditions to overcome.
Requirements of the Tree Management Framework
To achieve a canopy cover of 30% by 2050, it is estimated to require adding approximately 2,200 hectares of tree canopy to our existing 7,100 hectares currently across the LGA. This also requires us to retain and protect as many of our current trees as possible.
This can be achieved if we start immediately and continue in a consistent and staging manner over the next 20-30 years. Considering typical losses that are expected as trees age and die, or removed as sites are developed, these ambitious targets will require more than 15,000 trees to be planted annually across the LGA - over the next 11 years, till 2035 (including on both public and private land). For the 15 years beyond 2035, assuming we are meeting those targets (2035 - 2050) we will require 10,000 trees to be planted annually. The framework acknowledges the importance of community buy-in, to meet these targets and endeavors to prioritize education and community participation moving forward.
How will the objectives and initiatives of the TMF be funded and delivered?
The objectives and initiatives of the Tree Management Framework will be implemented /phased over time, and will require significant resources. The Strategy identifies potential funding sources, including through:
- Planning Proposals (PP), Development Assessment (DA) applications and Voluntary Planning Agreements (VPAs);
- Grant Funding;
- The Western Sydney City Deal;
- Council funding (including capital works projects and recurring maintenance); and
- Corporate sponsorships or philanthropic project contributions.
The delivery of aspects of the Tree Management Framework will be achieved through a collaboration between Council’s operational and delivery teams, as well as external through contractors, consultants, developers and the community.
Next Steps
The Draft Tree Management Framework documents are currently on public exhibition and Council is seeking your feedback.
Once the public exhibition period has closed, feedback will be collated, considered and used to inform the final iteration of the Tree Policy, Tree Management Strategy and Tree Management Technical Guidelines documents. The final documents will then be put to Council for adoption.
Although the Tree Management Framework sets out tree canopy targets to be achieved over the next 20-30 years, key actions identified within the framework must be instigated within a short timeframe - following Council adoption. This is to allow for the large-scale, physical changes to the environment that can only come with the urban forest expanding and maturing, in the fullness of time.
The harsh climates increasing in Western Sydney require immediate attention, and it is through actions and initiatives proposed by the Tree Management Framework, Liverpool City Council will be taking action to mitigate these effects. Initial steps will include establishing and initiating these new systems and procedures, to ensure that the Tree Management Framework has a robust structure for its delivery over the next 25-30 years.
Download the TMF Documents
Have your say
For further enquiries and/or questions relating to the Tree Management Framework, please contact Ariz Ashraf - Coordinator City Design and Public Domain via phone on 02 8711 7879 or via email at ashrafa@liverpool.nsw.gov.au or Joshua Walters - Acting Senior Urban Designer via phone on 02 8711 7656 or via email at waltersj@liverpool.nsw.gov.au