The Federal Court has weighed in on the debate surrounding the controversial lopping of 485 trees to make way for the expanded North Adelaide Golf Course, with the judge ordering the state government to give formal notice before chopping any more trees above a certain height.

The matter, which was brought against the state government by activist Edwin Kemp Attrill in a bid to bring the upgrade to a grinding halt, appeared in court for the first time on Friday.

The court heard 400 trees have already been cleared from the site and another 185 have been earmarked for future removal, though current golf course works are focusing on irrigation rather than land clearing.

After lengthy consideration, Western Australian-based Justice Michael Feutrill ordered the state government to give a 48-hour notice to the court and the applicant before chopping down any tree above the height of 3.5 metres.

Mr Attrill, who spoke to media following the decision, celebrated the outcome.

“This has been a huge day for the protection of the parklands and it’s a really significant step forward,” Mr Attrill said.

“We think that no trees should be removed from the Parklands.”

He added the notification of the intention to remove any tree over 3.5 metres tall would allow them the opportunity to bring the matter back to court.

Mr Attrill also celebrated learning “the truth” from the government, saying it was previously unknown how many more trees could be saved.

“We’ve had a lot of spin from the government,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Minister for the City of Adelaide, Lucy Hood, also took some joy out of the decision – pleased the attempted injunction failed.

She said the current phase of the project includes ground works such as shaping holes, laying irrigation and preparing the site for the laying of turf, which allows the redevelopment to continue as planned.

Ms Hood did not respond when asked by The Advertiser what public consultation was done ahead of the works.

She said the “Premier had been very clear in regards to the number of trees that were being removed” and that the project was “taken to the election”.

The matter will return to court after July 1.