Felling of poplars rouses ire

Press, 18 June 1982, Page 4

Felling of poplars rouses ire

A stand of tali poplar trees in Valley Road, Cashmere, was felled by contractors for the Heathcote County Council yesterday. Valley Road, off Cashmere Road, near the foot of Hackthorne ROad, was where, the late Dame ‘ .Ngaio Marsh lived until.her death earlier this .year. The trees were felled on a narrow strip of road reserve outside the property of Mr A. C. Kramer, of 428 Valley Road. When Woolston Mini Contractors began work yesterday morning the sound of chainsaws roused Mrs Agnes Kent, whose house in Gwynfa Avenue overlooks Valley Road.

Mrs Kent got in touch with her neighbours, Mrs Nancy Sutherland and Mrs Betty Roberts. Mrs Sutherland is a former Christchurch City councillor and Mrs Roberts was a Heathcote County councillor. The three were perturbed about the cutting of the trees and tried to have the work stopped. “They were really majestic and the whole corner was an asset,” said Mrs Roberts. She said that efforts to stop the work failed because anyone at the council with authority to stop the work was at’ a Counties’ Association conference in Dunedin.

“I object to the way they went abo.ut it. This is the second time I know of when the Heathcote County works and reserves committee has resolved that trees be cut forthwith. The whole purpose of the committees is to have a double hearing, first at the committee, then by a full council. It has been done so surreptitiously,” she said.

Mrs Kent said that the felling of such trees so soon after Arbor Day and when everyone was talking about the importance of the environment made nonsense of all the talk.

'“lt is our heritage. I feel they were irreplaceable,” she said.

Mrs Sutherland, who has lived in Gwynfa Avenue for 20 years, said that what made her particularly angry was that the property on which Mr Kramer was building, next to the stand of trees, had been sold by her. The stand of trees had attracted birds, including tuis and fantails, and had acted as a screen against traffic sounds from Valley Road. . Residents in Valley Road, however, were not so sorry to see the poplars felled. ’ “If they are. dangerous they should come down,” said Mrs Lorraine.Scholes, of 36 Valley Road. She said that last winter a big branch had

fallen on the overhead wires and cut electricity. The Heathcote Deputy Country Clerk, Mr H. >A. Scott, said that Mr Kramer had asked in May. that the council either remove or reduce the height of the poplar trees because of possible damage to the house he was having built.

. Mr Scott said it was well known that poplar trees could become rotten and in a severe storm could fall. -

He said that seven councillors had been at the meeting of the works and reserves

committee on June 3 and had decided to have the trees removed.

Mr Scott. said he could only assume, in the absence of the County Engineer, that the engineer and reserves engineer had inspected the trees before it was decided to fell them. He said that overhead power lines still served part of Valley Road, though underground cables had been laid in preparation for a change to underground plyMrs Kent said that the trees could not be considered

dangerous. They were perfectly clean. There were no signs of rot. She knew the sound that chainsaws made when they were labouring through solid wood. The saw in Valley Road had been labouring all day, and so it was obvious that the trees were not rotton, she said. Mrs Roberts said that she thought the branch that had cut the power one winter recently, had not been from a poplar tree, but from a pussy willow in the stand.

Photograph, page 18