Thank you to those who provided a submission to the Draft Brimbank Tree Policy.

Feedback from the community and other stakeholders has informed the final Brimbank Tree Policy.

Council considered all the submissions received at its Ordinary Council Meeting on 17 August 2021 and adopted this Policy with the following changes:

a) Reference to local example relating to stormwater reducing evaporation.

b) The following text: "However, once community awareness increases, perceptions can change rapidly".

c) Suggested tree species have been added to Appendix 1.

A full response to the individual submissions and the adopted Brimbank Tree Policy can be viewed here.

The draft Brimbank Tree Policy is a direct action of the Urban Forest Strategy adopted by Council in 2016. The aim was increasing canopy cover from 6.2 per cent to 30 per cent across Brimbank by 2046. By 2018, Council has increased canopy coverage to 8.5 per cent.

The draft Policy sets out how Council will achieve this target, through a range of additional measures to secure a biodiverse and resilient urban forest and outlines four main objectives:

1. Community engagement
2. Greening our city
3. Improving urban tree management, and
4. Demonstrating best practice in tree maintenance.

Applying to all trees across the municipality, it replaces the existing Street Tree Policy 2010. The draft Brimbank Tree Policy was endorsed by Council at the 20 April Council Meeting, and will help to safeguard and grow Brimbank’s canopy coverage to protect our community from heatwaves associated with climate change.