Council refuses aid for tree protection

Press, 10 September 1985, Page 4

Council refuses aid for tree protection

The Riccarton Borough Council should not give financial help to residents with trees on their properties under the protection of the District Scheme, the borough’s town-planning committee decided last evening. The decision came after a request by residents in Puriri Street for financial assistance to maintain protected trees on their property. In a report to the committee, the Town Clerk, Mr John Skinner, said the reserves foreman had looked at the trees and said that cable was needed on a copper beech which also needed watering during the dry months. Minor pruning was needed on an elm. The residents said the trees were about 80 years old and did not appear to have been well maintained. They had owned the property about a year.

The trees were near the street, alongside the driveway.

“As ’’home” maintenance is not practicable for trees of this size, we have sought advice and quotes from the two firms we understand to

be best equipped to deal with such trees,” the residents said.

One quote was for $BlO.

“While we accept responsibility for the trees, we feel that their positioning makes them very much a community asset and this is confirmed by our neighbours who regard them very highly.” The residents said they believed that provision of financial support was consistent with the council’s present subsidy for new planting “and in fact could be considered to be more worth while in that two substantial trees with an established community value will be maintained and enhanced.” The committee’s chairman, Cr Brian Harman, said he could not understand why the trees were protected.

“I cannot see why we go to the trouble of protecting trees, especially in a locality where there is an abundance of trees anyway,” he said.

The question that worried him was what the council was supposed to do if the

protected trees were not cared for by the owner of the property. “We put a protection order on it but we expect the owner to maintain the tree. All that means is that the owner cannot chop it down without council permission.” Cr John Warren said that protected trees were not listed on property titles. Noone could know if a property they were buying had protected trees on it. A system of plaques on such trees to identify them would allow people inspecting a property to find out about the trees.

Cr Peter O’Meeghan said council protection orders were just an encouragement to people to save the trees. Mr Skinner said that a review now in progress would incorporate the idea of the plaques with a graded classification system. Cr Roy Lester said the council had already refused so many applications for financial assistance along similar lines that “it would be folly to say that we will assist some - they will all want to come to the party.”