One of the best times to involve an arborist in a development project is before the design becomes difficult to change.
Mature trees on the site, neighbouring trees and council street trees can influence building placement, basement design, driveways, services and construction access.
A Preliminary Arboricultural Assessment provides architects, designers, developers and property owners with arboricultural information early enough to influence those decisions.
Banyan Tree Care provides Preliminary Arboricultural Assessments across Melbourne for residential developments, subdivisions, renovations and other projects involving existing trees.
A Preliminary Arboricultural Assessment is an early-stage assessment of trees that may influence a proposed development.
The arborist identifies relevant trees and assesses characteristics including species, dimensions, health, structure, maturity, useful life expectancy and suitability for retention.
Melbourne consulting arborists commonly use preliminary assessments to identify development constraints before detailed plans are completed.
The resulting information helps the project team understand which trees warrant retention consideration and where potential conflicts may occur.
Trees can significantly influence a development footprint. A design prepared without understanding tree constraints may later conflict with important root zones or trees council expects to be retained. Resolving those conflicts after detailed architectural work has been completed can involve additional reports, amendments and redesign. Early arboricultural advice provides the architect with useful information while design options remain open.
Development assessment is not necessarily limited to trees located within the subject property.
Neighbouring trees can extend roots and canopy across boundaries. Council street trees can also influence vehicle crossings, excavation, service installation and site access.
A preliminary assessment can therefore include relevant trees outside the property where proposed works have the potential to affect them.
Where relevant, the assessment can identify tree-protection considerations that should inform later design.
AS 4970:2025 Protection of trees on development sites is the current Australian Standard providing guidance for retaining, protecting and integrating trees within development sites.
Understanding these constraints early provides a much stronger foundation for later architectural planning and Arboricultural Impact Assessment.
Once the project design has progressed sufficiently, an Arboricultural Impact Assessment can compare the proposed works against the trees identified during the preliminary stage.
This creates a logical progression:
Preliminary assessment establishes the tree constraints. Design responds to those constraints. The AIA then evaluates the impacts of the proposed design.
For developments involving retained trees, later stages may also require a Tree Protection Management Plan and Project Arborist involvement.
These assessments are particularly useful for architects, builders, town planners, property developers and homeowners planning substantial construction.
A preliminary assessment can also assist someone considering purchasing a development property where mature trees may influence the site’s development potential.
If your project contains mature trees, neighbouring trees close to the boundary or council street trees near proposed works, early arboricultural advice can help the design team understand those constraints before plans are locked in.
Send Banyan Tree Care your feature survey, property address and any existing planning information.
Ideally, arrange it before detailed architectural plans are finalised. This allows the arborist to identify important trees, root-zone constraints and protection requirements while the design can still be adjusted. Early assessment can help reduce planning conflicts and costly redesigns later.
No. A Preliminary Arboricultural Assessment identifies tree constraints before detailed design. An Arboricultural Impact Assessment (AIA) assesses how a developed proposal may affect those trees. Many projects use the preliminary assessment first, followed by an AIA once plans are sufficiently advanced.
Sometimes. Neighbouring trees may need assessment where their roots, canopy or protection zones could be affected by proposed works. Council street trees may also be relevant. The arborist determines which surrounding trees should be included based on their location and relationship to the development.
Provide the property address, feature survey, available plans and any council correspondence. Development concepts or planning documents are also helpful. If you are unsure what is required, send Banyan Tree Care the documents you have and we can advise what is needed before the assessment.
