Moving house in Hunters Hill's heritage streets: trees, kerbs and old floors

Moving house in Hunters Hill's heritage streets comes down to two sets of rules, and both are worth checking before a single box is lifted.

The first is the tree over your gate. Council's Prescribed Vegetation page protects any vegetation 4 m or more high, or with a stem 200 mm or more across measured 1.4 m above the ground, and pruning it needs council approval. On a heritage street that approval is a bigger step than a permit. Council's Tree Permits page says trees in a heritage conservation area, or on a heritage-listed property, need a tree development application (DA). A branch low enough to brush a removal truck's roof may well be on a tree 4 m or taller, so leave it alone until council says otherwise.

The second is the kerb. Council's Woolwich Area W1 Visitor Parking Permit excludes trucks. Its Works Zone and Stand Plant pages are written for construction work and plant, not house moves.

Put those together and the plan is clear: the move fits around the street as it already stands. At Punt Road Removals, we would rather know the walk from kerb to front door before moving day than discover it on the morning.

Is your street in a Hunters Hill heritage conservation area?

Quite possibly, even if your address says Gladesville. Council's Heritage Conservation Areas and Items page lists seven heritage conservation areas in the local plan. They include No 1 The Peninsula, No 2 The Isler and No 3 Gladesville Village. The same page counts 515 local heritage items and nine State Heritage Items across the council area, and points to council's heritage maps on the NSW Planning Portal. Check the map before you book, not after.

The stone has a history. According to A brief history of Hunters Hill, the area grew as a residential retreat from the 1840s to the 1880s, and its distinguishing features are sandstone cottages, villas, stone walls and steep stone steps down to the foreshores.

The trees have a history too. The same brief history records that in 1870 "the Council introduced a tree policy, planting avenues of trees".

For moving day, all of this adds up to narrow gates in stone walls, worn steps, doorways sized long before modern sofas, and mature trees standing between the truck and your front door.

Moving house in Hunters Hill: walk the route from kerb to front door

Ten minutes with a tape measure tells you more than any map. Walk from where the truck will stop to the room the heaviest piece is going into, and note:

• Where the truck can legally stand. The kerbside rules are in the next section but one.
• What hangs overhead. Look for branches over the footpath and the kerb, and for any tree inside the front fence.
• The gate. Measure the width of the opening in the stone wall, not the gate leaf.
• The steps. Count them, note whether there is a rail, and notice how worn or uneven the treads are.
• The front door and verandah. Measure the door width and any step at the threshold.
• The tightest turn inside. Usually it is the hall into a bedroom, or the bottom of the stair.

Photograph each point. If the carry from truck to door is long or climbs, our guide to moving on a steep street covers crew sizing and carry distance. If you are trading the cottage for an apartment, the Gladesville unit move covers lifts, docks and clearways at the other end.

Can you trim a tree to get the removal truck in?

Not without asking council first. It is easy to assume you can trim an overhanging branch to get a truck in, but on a heritage street a tall or large-stemmed tree may be protected, and approval is needed first.

Size is not the only test. Council's Prescribed Vegetation page also covers heritage-listed trees and trees on the Significant Tree Register. That Significant Tree Register currently has 60 listings, public and private, including Moreton Bay and Port Jackson figs. Some are in Gladesville, among them trees in Salter Street and at Gladesville Hospital on Victoria Road.

Where the tree sits matters as much as how big it is. Council's Tree Permits page sends heritage-listed or significant trees, and any tree in a heritage conservation area or on a heritage-listed property, down the tree DA path rather than the simpler permit.

A tree DA is not something to start the week before a move, and this is not advice about whether yours needs one. Ring council and ask. In the meantime, plan the truck around the tree. A truck box pushed through a low canopy can snap limbs, so a low branch is a reason to choose a different spot at the kerb, not to force the issue. Tell us about it when you ask for a quote, and the plan starts from there.

Removalist parking in Hunters Hill: where can the truck legally stand?

On most heritage streets, the truck works within the same NSW kerbside rules as every other vehicle. The NSW parking rules say you must not stop across a driveway unless you are picking up or dropping off passengers, must not double-park, and must not stop on a footpath or nature strip unless a sign allows it. On a narrow lane, that last rule is the one people forget.

Spacing counts too. The same page asks for 1 m between parked vehicles, no parking within 10 m of an intersection without traffic lights, and no parking within 1 m of a fire hydrant. On a corner block in the old streets, the legal spot may be a little further along.

Signs change what is possible. At a "No parking" sign you may stop for under 2 minutes, staying within 3 m of the vehicle, to load or unload, according to the NSW parking rules. "No stopping" means no stopping at all. A loading zone lets a goods vehicle pick up or drop off goods for up to 30 minutes, and council officers enforce it. A house move runs for hours, so treat these as short stops, not a base for the day.

A word with the neighbours the evening before, asking them to leave a stretch of kerb free, often does more than any sign. If a fine does land, council's Parking Infringements page says fines are set by state legislation and collected by Revenue NSW. Once a notice is issued it "cannot be cancelled", but you can request a review from Revenue NSW.

What do Hunters Hill Council's road and parking permits cover?

Each council permit page describes a specific job, and none of them describes a house move. The Works Zone page describes a temporary parking restriction during development or construction work, usually out the front of the property. The Occupy Public Space page covers using carriageways, footpaths and nature strips, for example a fence or scaffold outside the boundary, and it requires a dilapidation report.

The Woolwich Area W1 Visitor Parking Permit excludes trucks, buses and trailers. Even for cars, it lifts only time limits, not no stopping, no parking or loading zones. It guarantees no space and applies only to listed streets and properties.

The Stand Plant permit is for placing plant on a road or footpath: concrete trucks and pumps, mobile cranes, cherry pickers, scissor lifts, excavators and other elevating devices. It needs a public liability insurance certificate and a traffic control plan certified by an accredited ticket holder, and the permit fee is charged per item, per day.

If any part of your move would bring a crane or another elevating device onto the street, for example a heavy piece that can't go up the stone steps, that is the kind of plant the Stand Plant page describes. Its lead times are strict: apply at least seven business days ahead or an urgency fee applies, and applications with under three business days' notice are refused. The page also lists "Operating restrictions for the following roads", with the times "9:30am to 3:30pm weekdays (excluding school holidays) and 8:00am to 1:00pm Saturdays": Gladesville Road, Alexandra Street, Woolwich Road, Ryde Road, Mark Street, Mary Street, Pittwater Road, Princess Street, Earl Street, The Avenue and Reiby Road.

So ring council early and ask what applies to a house move on your street. The number on the Stand Plant page is 02 9879 9400, or email info@huntershill.nsw.gov.au. Make the call before you lock in a date.

How do you protect old floors, doorways and stairs in a heritage home move?

This part is practical advice from the removals trade, not a council requirement. Old houses forgive less than new ones. Floorboards a century old mark easily, sandstone scratches under grit, and an architrave knocked by a wardrobe corner doesn't come back the same.

• Measure first. Check every doorway, the hall turn and the stair width against your largest pieces, including the diagonal depth of sofas and wardrobes. A piece that won't make the turn is better found on paper.
• Cover the boards end to end. Lay runners or protective boards over timber floors along the whole carry path, not only at the door.
• Keep sandstone clean. Sweep steps and flagging before the crew starts, because grit under a boot or trolley wheel is what scratches.
• Guard the frames. Pad door frames and architraves at the height furniture passes.
• Leave the stair rail alone. Old balusters and handrails are not handholds or levers for a heavy carry.
• Lift, don't drag. Carry across boards and thresholds, never slide.
• No sticky tape on old finishes. It can lift paint, shellac and timber finish when it comes off.
• Watch the weather. Wet sandstone steps are slippery, so plan a dry, non-slip path if rain is forecast.

If the property is heritage-listed, check with council before changing anything fixed to make the move easier, such as a gate, a door or a fitting. Careful packing does a lot of the protecting before the crew arrives: see the packing order, and our packing services and house moves pages.

A Hunters Hill heritage home move at a glance

Five things decide the day: whether your street is in a conservation area, whether the tree over the kerb is protected, where the truck can legally stand, what council says about your street, and how the old fabric inside is covered. The diagram above puts each one with its source.

Your next step: measure the walk, then ask us for a quote

Start with the walk from kerb to front door. Measure the gate, count the steps, photograph the tree and the kerb, and ring council on 02 9879 9400 if anything about the street or the tree is unclear. Then send it all to Punt Road Removals with your removals quote request, and we will plan the move around the street you actually live on. If you are moving between two old houses, our Both Ends planner helps you do the same walk at the other end.