Verge Treatments and Street Trees

The Town of East Fremantle gains valuable benefit from street, verge and park trees.

Benefits include the beautifying of streetscapes and suburbs, providing a sense of place, improved community wellbeing, increased property values, shade, temperature moderation, and providing habitat for fauna.

Street trees are increasingly being recognised and managed throughout Australia as important community assets as the benefits they deliver are progressively identified, understood, and measured. 

East Fremantle residents can apply to have a street tree planted or replaced on the verge adjacent to their property.

Once a request has been received, it is assessed as a priority by our Parks Staff, whether it is for a new tree i.e. there has never been a tree there before; or a replacement tree.  A site inspection takes place and the type of tree is discussed with the resident who made the request. Preparation is made for obtaining the trees during the summers months, with plantings undertaken between May and July each year.

The Town is also proactively working on replacing all verge and street trees, even if no request has been forthcoming.

All requests and feedback about street and verge trees are welcome. 

Requests for street/verge trees can be placed by contacting the Town of East Fremantle on (08) 9339 9339, via the Contact Us form on our website or via email admin@eastfremantle.wa.gov.au

The goal of the Town is to maximise the number of trees on the Town's road reserves, medians and public reserves. Council Policy 4.2.1 provides information about the Removal and Pruning of street trees. Excerpts are below, to read the policy in its entirety, download a copy here

Removal 

It is the Town’s intention to retain verge trees that are healthy, and do not cause any safety concerns. In the absence of suitable justification being provided for the removal of a tree, the request for the tree removal will not be supported.

Pruning (Maintenance)

Council reserves the right to prune, plant, or remove any tree or trees on its land or within Council’s verge, which it deems necessary.
Pruning of verge trees will only be carried out by Council or Council’s contractor on those trees that cause an adverse impact

For residents interested in planting in the verge area around existing street trees, adjacent to their property, please note and follow the following conditions prior to commencing any work:

• Any treatment placed in the verge needs to be permeable for water to be absorbed.
• Provision to the Town of East Fremantle of a diagrammatic to scale sketch or plan indicating the proposed location of plants and proposed plant species. Any proposed irrigation also to be shown (see separate conditions regarding irrigation).
• The plants are preferably to be native species appropriate to the East Fremantle area.
• Spikey plants are not permitted.
• A woodchip bund is to be provided around the plants to clearly define the location of the plant and to allow for proper watering
• All excess soils and litter resulting from the plantings is to be removed at the applicant’s cost
• Growth of the plants is to be maintained within the confines of the verge area and not be allowed to spill into the footpath or road areas, and not allowed to exceed a height of 750mm
• Plants are to be maintained in a weed free state at all times and are to be watered to establish and maintain them.
• Council accepts no responsibility for the plants’ health and well being.
• Should it be deemed necessary for any reason, the Town of East Fremantle or service providers (e.g. power, water, gas etc) reserves the right to carry out any necessary works on the verge or authorise others to do so, whether this necessitates removal of any plantings or not, at no cost to Council or other authorised party.
• Please note - artificial turf on the verge is not permitted.

1. Please provide, to the Town of East Fremantle, a diagrammatic sketch indicating location of proposed reticulation.
2. Any water pipes laid must be laid at a depth of not more than 30cm nor less than 15cm, and so that any fitting connected to them does not project above the surface of the verge.
3. Where connected to a private water supply, where passing under road pavement, made footpaths or crossings the water pipes shall be of galvanised wrought iron, copper or PVC and have approved valves, be located within the property where they are connected to the supply and fitted so as to give complete control of the flow of water from the supply
4. Prior to any excavation taking place all public utility services are to be located to prevent any damage during excavation (dial before you dig 1100).
5. All irrigation spray is to be maintained and contained within the verge area and not be allowed to overspray onto footpaths and roadways.
6. Applicant to remain responsible for maintenance and operation and related costs of reticulation.
7. The Council may at any time, by notice in writing to the owner or occupier of land that abuts upon that part of a street wherein the owner has had water piping or fittings installed require that owner or occupier to remove such water piping or fittings and may, where the owner or occupier does not comply with the notice, remove the piping or fittings at the expense of the owner or occupier, and any expense incurred by the council pursuant to this by-law may be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction.
8. Where the council or any other authority authorised by law to dig up a street for the purpose of carrying out authorised works is of the opinion that the carrying out of those works may be impeded by the existence of piping, under a lawn or garden in a street, it may give notice to the owner or occupier of the land abutting on the lawn or garden to remove the piping, until the completion of the works; and may, where the owner or occupier does not comply with the notice, remove the piping at the expense of the owner or occupier; and any expense incurred by the council or authority pursuant to this by-law may be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction. In respect of the above, the council or other authority is not liable for damage to piping under a lawn or garden in a street, occasioned either in the course of the removal of the piping or of carrying out authorised works.
9. Council reserves the right to use the full width of the road reserve as it sees fit and does not accept that it will be responsible to pay compensation for the cost of the 2 reticulation should future works require the removal of all or any part of that reticulation.
10. Council reserves the right to carry out work to the footpath and verge at any time and takes no responsibility for damage to lawn/vegetation, reticulation and drainage installations, the cost of reinstating same being borne by yourself, if required.
11. Council will not in any circumstances be responsible for any damage caused to the reticulation whether that damage is caused by the Council, another public authority or any other agent or individual.