Tree removal in The Patch
The Patch was settled as 10-acre farm selections, and three layers can apply to one tree here: the ranges overlay, the erosion overlay and the state's native vegetation rule.
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Ask for a quoteSherbrooke Forest. Photo: Haworthia Ihlathi, CC BY-SA 4.0
The rule in The Patch
The Patch is green wedge country: 21 of the 25 points we sampled were in Green Wedge zones. All 25 were under SLO1, the ranges overlay, which needs a council permit for native vegetation of any size and for any tree with a trunk more than:
- 1.1 m
- around at 1.3 m, about 35 cm through.
- 4 m
- Plants based within 4 m of a lawful building are exempt from SLO1.
- 10 m
- The 10/30 rule, for houses built or approved before 10 September 2009. Every point was in a Bushfire Prone Area. How it works.
SLO1 lets dead vegetation go, and the species on the council's environmental weeds list.
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) and Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 52.12 (bushfire protection exemptions).
The erosion overlay
Sixteen of our 25 points carried an erosion overlay, as many as in Olinda and more than anywhere except Kalorama. On those blocks the overlay's numbers are the tighter ones: a permit for vegetation unless it is a tree 50 cm or less around, within 2 m of a building, or dead with the ground made good. A tree 3 m from the house, exempt under SLO1, can still need an erosion permit.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule to Clause 44.01 (EMO) and Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 3 to Clause 44.01 (EMO3).
Bigger blocks and the state's native vegetation rule
The Patch was cut into 10-acre selections in the 1890s, and most of it is still rural residential. Block size matters for one more rule. The state's native vegetation clause needs a permit to remove native vegetation, but not on land under 0.4 ha (about an acre), counting any land next to it that you also own. On a block of 0.4 ha or more, removing native vegetation can need the state's permit as well as SLO1's.
The state clause has exemptions of its own, including regrowth under 10 years old on land that was lawfully cleared. Your council's planning team can say which apply.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Wikipedia: The Patch, Victoria and Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 52.17 (native vegetation).
The name
In the 1860s one stand of mountain ash grew apart from the rest, and the area took its name from that patch. The 1890s settlers, many of them unemployed people from the city, lived in paling shacks with calico windows, and berry growing took hold by the end of the decade. Daniel Camm, a grower here, started Monbulk Jams. Today The Patch is houses, a hall, a general store, a primary school and several commercial nurseries.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Wikipedia: The Patch, Victoria.
The rule next door
- Monbulk
- SLO22 in the township (50 cm, 2 m) and SLO5 on the farms (1.1 m, 4 m), and far less erosion overlay.
- Selby and Menzies Creek
- Selby has SLO3, which shares SLO1's terms. Menzies Creek is partly in Cardinia.
The permit guide has every overlay.
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), Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 5 to Clause 42.03 (SLO5) and Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 3 to Clause 42.03 (SLO3).
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.