removal of camphor laurel

[Joister]

hi,

anyone have any ideas on how we can convince council (inner Sydney suburb)to give us permission to remove one huge camphor laurel from the backyard of a house we just bought - we have requested once and are now preparing an appeal - any ideas would be great

points we used in our initial submission include:
delcared noxious by most councils, reduces solar access, is pushing up the council footpath as it expands, the expanding girth has destroyed the boundary fence

many thanks

[rowdyflat]

Dont .
why did you buy the house if you dont appreciate the tree.?

[Toyboy]

Can 'Roundup' be detected? I reckon that by the time the tree died, it would be difficult, if not impossible to detect.
Use the stuff neat around the root area which is usually out at the perimeter of the foliage. Bore deep holes and insert some pvc pipe as deeply as possible, and then trim them off at ground level. The leaves will hide the holes. Dig the pipes up later on and presto.
Yes, they are a declared noxious weed in most states and the timber is great for all sorts of projects.
I'll probably be shot for this response.

[johnc]

Can 'Roundup' be detected? I reckon that by the time the tree died, it would be difficult, if not impossible to detect.
Use the stuff neat around the root area which is usually out at the perimeter of the foliage. Bore deep holes and insert some pvc pipe as deeply as possible, and then trim them off at ground level. The leaves will hide the holes. Dig the pipes up later on and presto.
Yes, they are a declared noxious weed in most states and the timber is great for all sorts of projects.
I'll probably be shot for this response.

No you wont get shot, round up needs to be applied to the green stuff not bark and roots, unless you apply it to recently cut wood. You'd probably just promote its growth, unless you include some sump oil, tree killer, acid, copper nails driven into the bark nothing like an alternative.

[Toyboy]

Love your work Johnc.

[whitewood]

I live in NSW Northern Rivers and they are a real weed here. I poisoned a few on the boundary of my plantation by drilling a 3/4'' hole to the depth of the bit in the trunk below each branch and pouring 1 part roundup to 8 parts water in each hole. The diluted roundup penetrates a lot easier. It killed the trees quite quickly and completly. The only problem is that I did not cut them down and about 4 years later the trees are slowly rotting and large branches regularly fall to the ground. The original bore holes are still evident so if you used that method the local Council inspectors would be able to tell that the tree did not die of natural causes.

[Joister]

thanks everyone

i'm ok with removing the tree once we get permission - it is just the getting permission that is proving a challenge - we'll keep on

[aussieorchid]

You may need to talk to a solicitor for the exact wording but your appeal should detail the fact that it is pushing up the council footpath (and you will not be held liable for costs to repair damage) and the expanding girth has destroyed the boundary fence (maybe you need to get the neighbours to include a statement if it affects the boundary) as you can be held liable for damage to the fence if it is shared.

[Joister]

fanx Aussieorchid

in the throws of pulling the letter together as we speak complete with photos - apart from the physical damage the tree is causing i'm keen from a reveg perspective as would like to get a few local endemics growing in the backyard

will keep you posted (although could be a while)

fanx again

[juliussee]

What council is that?

I hope I don't have a problem later this year when I want to cut down a massive Camphor Laurel tree from a front yard.

I bought a place in Sutherland Shire Council and called them before buying and they said it would be ok to cut it down, no application needed.

Hoping they don't change their minds.


Does anybody know how much it would cost to cut down such a tree, about 800mm trunk maybe 20m high?

What happens to the wood?

[Calm]

What happens to the wood?

Send it to Melbourne - we can give you the address later

[DavidG]

What happens to the wood?

Send it to Canberra. It is closer than Melb.

[corbs]

Send it to Canberra. It is closer than Melb.

Two votes for Canberra

[Terrian]

Bugger, I knew we forgot to do something when we cut down those 60'+ high trees in our backyard a few years back

oh, two votes for Melbourne

[Joister]

hi Juliussee

in amongst trying to work out votes for melbourne or canberra will give a response to your question - in some council areas you can cut to your camphor's content as they are noxious - so that is what sutherland sounds like - whereas for us in the inner west of sydney they are not so we need the approvals

regards cost - cheapest quote we got was just over $4k (we have one mighty big tree) and that was over 12months ago when we started seeking approvals - they ranged up to over $7k

hope this helps