A WHITE GUM VALLEY homeowner has become the first person to fall foul of the Fremantle council’s Tree Retention Policy after cutting down four white-gums from his verge.
The council introduced the policy in March 2025, restricting “tree-damaging activity” on “regulated” trees unless the owner or developer had sought prior approval from the council.
Speaking at this week’s council meeting where he was seeking retrospective approval for removing the four trees, Ben Lewis said it wasn’t until he submitted an application for renovations several months later that the council picked up the missing trees.
Mr Lewis said a severe storm and strong wind gusts had brought branches down, leaving his home and vehicles damaged.
Describing a passion for sustainability that has seen him plant over 20 native trees since moving to the property, he said concerns about his family’s safety had led him to take action.
• The owner says safety prompted him to cut down these “regulated” trees following a storm.
He was also “emotionally compromised” by concerns for his family and the stress from the property damage and may have acted impulsively.
“Retrospectively, if you weren’t emotionally compromised, you’d probably think a bit more logically and take a different approach perhaps,” Mr Lewis said.
Staff recommended councillors refuse the retrospective approval; but they deferred the decision for another two weeks in order to consider Mr Lewis’ testimony.
”We just don’t have the evidence to confirm that it was an urgent work that would be exempt from needing approval,” the City’s planning manager Chloe Johnston said.
Destruction of the Fremantle tree canopy has long been a prominent issue in the community, with several activist groups fighting to preserve similar large trees in the area.
Western Australian Tree Canopy Advocates co-founder, Nick Cook praised the council’s policy, saying “we simply cannot afford to lose the mature canopy that we have left.
“This [policy] is a turning point, a pivot away from business as usual”.
However, councillor Jemima Williamson-Wong questioned potential shortcomings of the policy, saying it may fail to consider where immediate tree removal is crucial for public safety.
“Is there an issue with how our policy is set up to require members of our community who might have experienced limbs falling off trees to then somehow get in contact with a member of our staff to go and look at the trees,” Cr Williamson-Wong said.
by LAYLA HEFFERNAN