Land Clearing on the North Shore, Auckland
Arborist North Shore clears sections and building sites across Auckland's North Shore, taking out trees, scrub, weed trees, overgrown hedges and stumps so the builder, surveyor or landscaper can start work on a clear site. The Upper Harbour local board area added 28 percent more dwellings between the 2018 and 2023 censuses, the fastest dwelling growth on the Shore. We fell, chip and remove the vegetation with our own chipper and grinder, run by qualified arborists.
Clearing land on the Shore runs into rules a garden tidy-up never meets, from stream and coastal setbacks to Significant Ecological Areas, kauri hygiene zones and earthworks limits. We check your site against the Auckland Unitary Plan overlays at a free site visit and tell you what applies before we quote. Every clearing quote is itemised, with clearing, removal and stumps on separate lines. Call 09 888 0539 to book a look at your section.
Land Clearing Services for North Shore Sections
Residential Section Clearing
We clear overgrown residential sections for owners getting ready to build, subdivide or sell, from a back lot behind a Glenfield house to a sloping section in Greenhithe. Trees come down, scrub is cut and chipped, and all of it leaves on our trucks.
Mark the trees and plants you want kept before the visit. It saves a disagreement with the digger later.
Building Site Preparation
Builders and developers bring us in ahead of the earthworks crew to take the vegetation off a site and grind the stumps where foundations and driveways will go. Clearing first means the digger is not fighting roots and branches, and the topsoil strip comes out cleaner.
Send the site plan if you have one. The building footprint tells us which stumps need grinding deep and which can be cut flush.
Scrub, Gorse and Weed Tree Clearance
Gorse, wattle, privet and self-sown pines take over neglected North Shore sections fast, and our crew clear them with chainsaws, brush cutters and the chipper working together. Pest plants come out roots and all where they would otherwise resprout.
Pest plant removal is permitted under the Unitary Plan vegetation rules, though the overlays for your site are still checked first.
Bush-Edge and Sloping Site Clearing
Sections backing onto bush or sitting on a steep slope are the ones we assess hardest before quoting, because the rules and the risk both rise. Removing vegetation within 10 metres of an urban stream is a restricted discretionary activity under the Auckland Unitary Plan, which means resource consent.
On slopes, trees are often felled in sections and root systems left in where they hold the bank.
Stump Removal for Cleared Land
Once the site is clear, the stumps where the house, driveway or retaining wall will sit are ground out by our crew, and the rest are cut flush or left for landscaping. Under a future slab we grind deeper and cart the grindings off, so no organic matter rots under concrete.
Count the stumps on the plan with us at the site visit. Stump numbers change the time on site more than anything else.
How a North Shore Land Clearing Job Runs
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Step 1. Free site visit | We walk the site, mark what stays, and check overlays, streams, coast and any kauri. |
| Step 2. Itemised written quote | Clearing, chipping, removal and stumps are priced as separate lines, with any consent need flagged. |
| Step 3. Rules and services | Where consent or a kauri earthworks plan applies, we work to its conditions, and beforeUdig plans are requested for stump grinding. |
| Step 4. Clearing | Trees are felled whole or in sections, scrub is cut, and everything is chipped on site. |
| Step 5. Stumps and handover | Stumps are ground where the build needs them, chip and logs go with us, and the site is ready for the earthworks crew. |
Get a Free Land Clearing Quote on the North Shore
Free consultation and site visit, then a written quote before anything is cut. Qualified, insured arborists, available 24/7 across the North Shore. Call 09 888 0539.
Land Clearing Prices on the North Shore
| Job | Price guide (excl. GST) |
|---|---|
| Small overgrown section or back lot | $600 to $2,000 |
| Typical residential section clear | $1,300 to $5,200 |
| Sloping, bush-edge or large sites | Quoted after the site visit |
| Stump grinding on cleared land | Priced per stump by size |
Prices are GST exclusive and are a guide until the site has been walked. Chipping and removing the green waste is included, while stumps are itemised separately. Very small sites sit at the upper end, since the crew, chipper and truck cost the same to bring in for half a day. The itemised written quote is the price you pay.
What Moves the Price of Land Clearing
- How dense the vegetation is and the size of the trees
- Slope and access for the chipper and truck
- Number and size of stumps to grind
- Overlay or consent conditions on the site
- Trees being kept, which means working around them
- Distance from the work area to where the truck can load
Why Builders and Owners Use Us for Land Clearing
Rules checked first
Qualified arborists check the overlays, streams, coast and kauri before quoting.
Own chipper and grinder
Vegetation is chipped and stumps ground with our own machines.
Itemised quotes
Clearing, removal and stumps are separate lines you can compare.
Public liability insurance
We carry cover for work beside neighbours, fences and services.
Powerline-approved staff
Lines crossing a site do not stop the job, since our staff are approved to work near them.
20+ years on the Shore
More than 20 years and over 1,000 trees worked on across the North Shore.
Clearing Rules, Bush and Kauri on the North Shore
Clearing a North Shore section is mostly governed by the vegetation and earthworks chapters of the Auckland Unitary Plan, and the site visit from our arborist team on the North Shore is built around checking them before a price goes on paper. Each of these checks takes minutes at the site visit and saves weeks if it is missed.
Vegetation removal in residential zones is generally permitted, with exceptions that come up often here. Under rule E15 of the Auckland Unitary Plan, removal within 10 metres of an urban stream needs consent, and so does removing more than 25 square metres of vegetation, or a native tree over 3 metres, within 20 metres of the coast. Sections running down to the creeks of Kaipātiki or out to the clifftops of the Bays are checked against both.
Significant Ecological Areas are the next layer. The Hibiscus and Bays local board area alone holds 199 of these features. Inside one, the permitted allowances shrink to trimming within set limits and maintenance close to buildings, tracks and fences, and clearing beyond that becomes a consent matter for your site.
Kauri add their own rule. The national kauri dieback plan treats ground within three times a kauri's canopy radius as a hygiene zone, and earthworks inside it need an approved earthworks risk management plan, which the occupier gives to any contractor. Where your site has kauri, that plan sets how we work, starting with clean gear in and out.
Earthworks in residential zones are permitted up to 500 square metres and 250 cubic metres under the district rules. Bigger jobs sit inside your building or resource consent, and we work to its erosion and sediment controls. If anything of heritage value turns up, the accidental discovery rule stops work within 20 metres and the council is told. Our crew stop and call you if that happens.
Land Clearing Reviews from North Shore Customers
Land Clearing FAQs
How much does land clearing cost on the North Shore?
A typical residential section costs between $1,300 and $5,200 excluding GST to clear, and a small overgrown back lot from $600. Sloping, bush-edge and larger sites are quoted after a site visit, and stumps are priced separately.
Who checks whether I need consent to clear my section?
Can you clear vegetation near a stream or the coast?
There are kauri on my section. Can you still clear it?
Do you take everything away?
Which North Shore areas do you clear land in?
Book Your North Shore Land Clearing Site Visit
Arborist North Shore. Phone 09 888 0539, answered 24 hours a day. We work across the whole North Shore, from Devonport and Takapuna to Albany, Glenfield, Birkenhead, Hobsonville and the East Coast Bays.
