Sydney councils warned over delays in dangerous tree removal after wild weather brings down 7000 trees in two weeks

Sydney councils have been warned the ‘time for excuses is over’ for delays in removing dangerous trees after recent storm events brought down hundreds of trees and uprooted lives.

A Petersham mother can still hear the sound of a 60m gum tree falling onto her roof.

Natalie Saad was asleep when the massive ghost gum tree she previously complained about to Inner West Council came crashing through her roof during a recent storm.

“It was so traumatic and when I close my eyes I can still hear the sound of the tree coming through the roof. It makes me sick to my stomach,” she said.

“We’ve been in the house for 13 years and my son has always said: ‘Mum, that tree is going to fall’.

“We tried to have the council assess but they said it was a protected tree so it couldn’t be removed.

Natalie Saad and her son Aidan (16) in their Petersham home where, during the recent storms, a huge tree fell and damaged the home house.

The tree that fell on Natalie Saad’s Petersham home.

Sydney councils have been warned the “time for excuses is over” for delays in removing dangerous trees after recent storm events brought down hundreds of trees across the city.

Calls are growing for local councils to step up tree safety measures following a spike in the number of trees toppling onto homes, cutting power lines and blocking main roads.

Over the last month, emergency crews have been flat out responding to fallen trees with the state’s emergency service volunteers called out to a staggering 7000 incidents in the space of the last month.

Across Sydney, multiple homeowners have had their lives uprooted after established trees fell onto properties.

“When it came through the roof it was so big it needed a 100 tonne crane to lift out and it took five hours,” Ms Saad said.

The tree fell while the family was sleeping.

Damages to the roof.

A 100 tonne crane removed the tree.

“There’s a tarp over the roof now and we’ve been told it might take at least six months to have the roof fixed.”

“There’s a tarp over the roof now and we’ve been told it might take at least six months to have the roof fixed.”

The call for councils to take action on trees has been echoed with NSW Opposition with Local Government spokeswoman Wendy Tuckerman saying councils across NSW “need to stop dithering and get on with fixing these issues before lives are lost and more properties are damaged”.

Over the past month, there have been reports of homes left in ruins by toppled trees in suburbs spanning from Mosman to the Sutherland Shire and the Northern Beaches to Blacktown.

A tree has fallen in wild weather in Canley Vale on January 17 2025. Picture: Supplied

DAILY TELEGRAPH 17TH JAN, 2025.A man was hit by a fallen tree on Elizabeth street, Sydney.Photographer: Ted Lamb

In West Pymble, resident Michael Tumulty was left without power for five days after two trees on council property came crashing down on top of power lines outside his home.

“We raised the issue about the trees with the council before and there have been trees falling on homes and across roads. It’s only a matter of time before someone is killed,” he said.

Figures obtained by The Sunday Telegraph have revealed Northern Beaches Council responded to 349 fallen trees over a one week period during storms in late January – bringing the total number of fallen tree responses in the council area to 883 since the beginning of this year.

Fallen trees in Bellevue Hill after severe weather hit Sydney this month.

Ku-ring-gai Council responded to 338 fallen trees over the same one-week period, Ryde Council responded to more than 200 incidents, and Campbelltown Council was called out to 96 incidents.

The current process for removing trees can involve residents having to supply councils with written statements and photographic evidence for approval.

If a request is approved, residents then need to organise and pay for a tree contractor to undertake the works.

Fallen trees have caused disruption across Sydney including here on the upper north shore.

Abdul Rahman, managing director of Sydney Tree Company, said it was “becoming harder and harder” for households to have trees removed, partly due to councils committing to increasing the amount of tree canopy in suburbs as part of ”urban greening” strategies.

Mr Rahman said there was also a lack of consistency between Sydney councils, with some councils requesting approval for all work done on trees and other areas providing exemptions.

Mosman councillor Roy Bendall has defended current council protocols for tree removal requests, saying the issue was not clear cut.

A fallen tree on public land that came down during this month’s storms in Pymble.

“Every person that wants a tree removed says it’s dangerous, but in many cases the request can actually be about gaining access to a building site or improving a harbour view,” he said.

The Insurance Council of Australia has called for all levels of governments to have a “laser-like focus” on mitigating weather-related risks such as dangerous trees due rising frequency of events, resulting in increases to home insurance costs.

In the past five years, insurance payouts from extreme weather have soared from an average of $2.1 billion to $4.5 billion.

Originally published as Sydney councils warned over delays in dangerous tree removal after wild weather brings down 7000 trees in two weeks