Nature Strip / Road Verge Development

The road verge, commonly known as the nature strip is the section of land between the road edge and urban property boundary. Many residents have chosen to extend their garden onto the nature strip in front of their house, however anyone wishing to develop or use the nature strip is required to apply for approval.  

How to Apply
Complete the Nature Strip development application ( PDF 164Kb) and send to the Parks and City Services, Public Use Team for consideration. Please allow a minimum of 14 days for processing.

Post: Public Use Team, Parks and City Services, Stromlo Office, GPO Box 158 Canberra ACT 2601
Fax: (02) 6207 2544 - Public Use Team
Email: environment_eventsandcamping@act.gov.au
Hand deliver: Stromlo Office, 500 Cotter Road Weston ACT 2611
Phone: Canberra Connect on 13 22 81

Nature Strip Frequently Asked Questions                                   

What is a Nature Strip?

Who looks after my nature strip?

Why do we have street trees?

Who looks after street trees?

Who looks after my nature strip?

Can I landscape my nature strip?

Can I park my car or store materials on the nature strip?

Exceptions to nature strip maintenance.

What is a Nature Strip and Road Verge?

A road verge, often referred to as a nature strip, is the strip of land between a residential property boundary and the adjacent roadway.

Nature strips are an integral part of Canberra’s garden city environment. As well as providing a safe public walking area, they are designed to complement your neighbourhood’s natural settings. The nature strip or roadside verge is public land and is not part of your lease from the ACT Government. If you plan to do anything other than grow grass, you need permission. Nature strips usually contain essential services such as sewerage, water pipes, telephone, power and gas. Unapproved works or alterations to the nature strip may result in limiting accessibility or causing damage to these services. This can prove to be a very costly exercise for those responsible. Changes such as tree plantings or landscaping requires consultation and approval.

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Who looks after my nature strip?

It is accepted practice that maintenance such as mowing of grass on nature strips (residential or commercial) is carried out by the adjacent lessee (this includes single unit dwellings, body corporates, schools and ACT Housing properties).

Where construction work is undertaken within the lease, the builder / leaseholder is responsible for obtaining approval to use the nature strip. If approval is given they will then be required to ensure that the verge tree and grassed nature strip are protected during construction.

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Why do we have street trees?

Street trees beautify the landscape, enhance property values and contribute to a range of other environmental benefits for both the community and our local fauna. A specific tree type is generally selected for each street, and this provides the street with its own landscape character. It is ACT Government policy to ensure that street trees are provided within the verge of new residential areas, so that in time a greater sense of landscape unity and identity will be created.

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Who looks after street trees?

The ACT Government is responsible for all maintenance of street trees (excluding wattles) whether they are formal Government plantings or private plantings. It is common practice that the maintenance of shrubs and wattles is conducted by the adjacent lessee.

Parks and City Services (PACS) periodically checks and carries out any necessary pruning, removal and replacement of street trees planted on your nature strip. If you wish to remove any trees that you or a previous lessee have planted on the nature strip, you are required to obtain written a approval from PACS prior to removal. If you do not have a street tree and would like one planted, contact PACS via Canberra Connect on 13 22 81. Remember that you are required to seek approval if you wish to plant any trees on the nature strip.

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How do I look after my nature strip?

Grass should be maintained at an acceptable level and should not exceed 0.5 of a metre in height, to ensure that it does not cause a line of sight problem or a fire hazard.

Foliage on the nature strip, or foliage growing out from your lease that overhangs a public footpath, must be pruned to maintain a minimum height of two metres clear above footpaths. It must also be pruned back off the footpath by 30 centimetres or in line with the lease boundary (this includes hedges and groundcovers). For safety purposes it is a requirement that pedestrians must have access to the entire width of the footpath.

A strip of grass or stable surface must be maintained at a minimum of 1.2 metres wide from the back of the kerb to facilitate garbage / recycling collections as well as pedestrian access directly off the roadway, even if a footpath exists near your lease boundary. Foliage or structures must not interfere with the line of sight of motorists, pedestrians or cyclists when using, entering or exiting an intersection, driveway or footpath.

Adequate protection for nature strip trees is required. This can be achieved by applying to PACS for approval if you intend to alter the nature strip in any way. 

For approval to be granted you must protect your street tree by:

• not placing site sheds, building materials or vehicles within the root zone (drip zone or minimum 2m radius); 
• no unapproved excavation of trees;
• no excavation for services, driveways, or footings within at least 3m of the tree trunk;
• avoiding hard paving surfaces at least 50cm from the trunk of the tree, as these cause an impermeable layer preventing air and water from reaching the tree roots;
• installing a gravel diffusion layer under the pavement;
• ensuring that the ground level around nature strip trees is not altered and that materials are not to be built-up around the base of any trees.

Report any Government street trees causing concern or that are hazardous or causing concern, to Canberra Connect on 13 22 81. PACS staff will assess the tree and rectify the problem as necessary.

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Can I landscape my nature strip?

If you plan to just grow grass on your nature strip, approval is not required. If you plan on landscaping your nature strip (other than growing grass), approval is required. Use the Nature Strip Application above so PACS staff can assess your proposal. When planning your landscaping options, consider the following:

• Landscape developments may include garden beds, rockeries, paving, shrubs, ground cover plants, tan bark or similar materials. Trees will only be approved if they match the landscape character of the street;
• Mulches, compacted granite or similar ground treatment must be stable and properly contained. Road drains at your home empty into our streams, lakes and the Murrumbidgee River without treatment. Care must be taken to ensure that the road, drains and footpaths are protected from such matter for environmental and safety purposes;
• You must also take into account the mature size of plants, to ensure they will not cause an obstruction for pedestrians or line of sight problems for motorists. Shrubs should not exceed 0.5m in height;
• Temporary protective fencing is permitted with approval, if constructed and maintained in a safe condition, in areas where newly seeded soil or turf is located. Permanent fencing is not permitted;
• Watering systems may only be installed with approval from PCL, but are generally discouraged. Preference is given to landscape types suitable to the ACT such as dryland grasses and drought hardy plants.
• Will you be restricting or limiting access to in ground services by altering ground levels, constructing walls or planting trees and shrubs above them.

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Can I park my car or store materials on the nature strip?

Approval is required for the temporary storage of building materials and any other objects on nature strips or other public unleased Territory land. Please be aware that the following activities or items are prohibited:

• park or store any type of vehicle or trailer on your nature strip (registered or unregistered or parts thereof).
• store or place any substance, material or objects on nature strips without written approval from PCL;
• install pavers or concrete, erect stone or brick walls, or similar structures or materials, across nature strips without written approval from PCL;
• prune or remove any street trees;
• allow foliage to obstruct pedestrian access to footpaths or nature strips within 1.2 metres from the back of the kerb; 

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Exceptions to nature strip maintenance.

In certain circumstances, the nature strip may be maintained by the ACT Government examples of this are:

1. Seperate title town houses or standard residential properties which have a nature strip at the front and back of the property are not required to maintain the rear nature strip (where there is no driveway) unless they choose to do so. (This excludes body corporates which are responsible for the maintenance of all nature strips abutting the property)

2. Where a nature strip fronts unleased Territorry land such as a laneway or park. In this instance the lessee is only responsible for maintaining the nature strip inline with their property boundary not the laneway or park land.

3.Shopping centres where an alternative arrangement has been made with the Department.

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