Tree removal in Belgrave South
Belgrave South is Green Wedge bush on the southern foothills, burnt on Ash Wednesday. The bushfire exemptions matter as much here as the tree permit does.
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Ask for a quoteOlinda Forest. Photo: Nick Carson, CC BY 3.0
The rule in Belgrave South
All 25 points we sampled in Belgrave South were under SLO1, Yarra Ranges' ranges overlay, and most were Green Wedge land. SLO1 needs a council permit for native vegetation of any size, and for any tree with a trunk more than:
- 1.1 m
- around, 1.3 m above the ground. A tape measure at chest height settles it: 1.1 m around is a trunk about 35 cm across.
- 4 m
- SLO1 doesn't apply within 4 m of a lawful building, and branches over the roof can be cut back to 4 m clear.
- 10 m
- The 10/30 rule can apply anywhere here: all 25 points were in a Bushfire Prone Area. The conditions.
Dead vegetation, pruning for health of up to a third of a plant, and the council's listed environmental weeds are outside SLO1. ESO1, at 15 points, keeps a permit on a standing dead tree more than 1.3 m around.
Get a free property report from VicPlan to see which overlays cover your block.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 1 to Clause 42.03 (SLO1), Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 1 to Clause 42.01 (ESO1) and Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 52.12 (bushfire protection exemptions).
After Ash Wednesday
The Ash Wednesday fires of February 1983 came through Belgrave South and Belgrave Heights. Across those two suburbs and Upper Beaconsfield, 238 houses were destroyed and 21 people died.
For a house built or approved before 10 September 2009, the 10/30 rule lets any vegetation, trees included, go within 10 m, and everything except trees within 30 m. The Bushfire Management Overlay covered 20 of our 25 points, and a house under it can clear everything except trees out to 50 m. None of this needs SLO1's permit.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Wikipedia: Belgrave South, Wikipedia: Belgrave Heights and Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 52.12 (bushfire protection exemptions).
Native vegetation is more than trees
The Baluk Willam Nature Conservation Reserve, 67.5 hectares, holds more than 70 kinds of orchid. Orchids count. In the planning scheme, native vegetation means plants indigenous to Victoria: shrubs, herbs and grasses as well as trees. Under SLO1, clearing native understorey on a bush block can need a permit even where no tree is touched.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Wikipedia: Belgrave South, Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 73.01 (general terms) and Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 1 to Clause 42.03 (SLO1).
Two heritage places with tree controls
The Coronation Planting at Colby Drive and the Belgrave-Hallam Road (HO121) and the Mt Morton Reserve on Chaundy Road (HO122) both have heritage tree controls. Our sample didn't land on either, but a tree in one needs a heritage permit whatever its size.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule to Clause 43.01 (Heritage Overlay).
The rule next door
- Belgrave Heights and Selby
- SLO1 as well. Selby adds an erosion overlay on its slopes: 50 cm and 2 m.
- Belgrave
- The township overlay SLO22: 50 cm around and 2 m from a building.
- Menzies Creek and Emerald
- Into Cardinia, whose overlays have no minimum tree size and exempt 6 m around a house on a lot under 0.4 ha.
All four councils are in the permit guide.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 1 to Clause 42.03 (SLO1), Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 22 to Clause 42.03 (SLO22) and Cardinia Planning Scheme, Schedule 1 to Clause 42.03 (SLO1).
Ask for a quote
Tell us where you are and what needs doing. We pass it to a local arborist who works in the hills. They ring you back to talk about the job.