New planning rules in 2024 to better protect Adelaide's urban tree canopy and safeguard large mature trees
South Australia's new planning rules in 2024 aimed to better protect Adelaide’s urban tree canopy and recognised the important role Adelaide’s mature trees played in community wellbeing, biodiversity and reducing the urban heat effect. A strong tree coverage had survived in Adelaide eastern suburban areas such as Glenunga (above).
The South Australian government introduced new planning rules in 2024 to better protect Adelaide’s urban tree canopy and safeguard large mature trees from being destroyed.
Taking immediate effect, the new regulations protected trees with a smaller trunk circumference. The trunk size for regulated trees was reduced from two metres to one metre, while significant trees went from three metres to two. Exemptions for trees based on distance from homes and pools was reduced. Only trees within three metres from a home or pool could be removed without approval, with the old regulations allowing removal of trees within 10 metres. Trees of the eucalyptus genus retained their previous protected status and angophora and corymbia species became similarly protected.
The new regulations placed pruning limits on regulated and significant trees, allowing only 30% of the tree’s canopy to be removed every five years. The changes gave flexibility to adapt the exempt species list to local needs and community views through a notice on the PlanSA website.
Fees for destroying or removing protected trees increased better reflecting the cost of replacing trees. Offset fees for a regulated tree increase from $326 to $1000 and from $489 to $1500 for a significant tree. The money collected from removing trees went into local councils’ urban tree funds or into the state government’s planning and development fund. The money was used to either plant and maintain trees or to buy land to preserve or plant trees.
These actions recognised the important role Adelaide’s mature trees played in community wellbeing, biodiversity and reducing the urban heat effect. The changes were guided by bipartisan recommendations from the parliament’s environment, resources and development committee that had been asked to advise on tree protections after their tnquiry into the urban forest. The new regulations were developed with advice from the state planning commission, based on Adelaide University research, and as recommended by the expert panel reviewing the of South Australia’s planning system.
The state government’s planning minster Nick Champion also asked the state planning commission to:
* prepare a design standard for minimum urban tree planting and maintaining public areas in greenfield developments.
* strengthen planning rules to support design innovation and flexibility to retain large trees.
* investigate ways to fasttrack approvals for tree removal within three metres of a dwelling or swimming pool where offset fees are paid.
* extend canopy protections to greenfield developments in master planned neighbourhood zones and townships.
* extend regulated and significant tree protections to townships beyond metropolitan Adelaide.
Champion said South Australia would go from having the weakest tree protection policies in Australia to the most comprehensive: “These changes support work to create the first urban greening strategy for Adelaide.”
TREENET (Tree and Roadway Experimental Education Network) was among groups welcoming the changes. It thanked the many agencies and volunteers who worked hard over many years to achieve them, including: Conservation Council SA, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, National Trust of South Australia, Nature Conservation Society of South Australia, Trees For Life, the CFS, Native Vegetation Branch of the Native Vegetation Council, Environmental Defenders Office, and particularly Joanna Wells, Tom Morrison, Melissa Ballantyne, Daniel Bennett, Peter Croft, Ann Doolette, Stephan Koefer, Luke Montero, Darren Peacock, Daniel Roberts, Kate Sutcliffe, Glenn Williams and Craig Wilkins.
