Kathy Gandolfi
A NUMBER of trees in Mount Burr will be removed next month following a decision by Wattle Range Council last week to enable progress on planned works to reconstruct and seal more of the town’s service roads.
Council began upgrading the town’s service roads last year and work on the next sections, opposite the former timber mill and another on the north eastern exit of the town, is planned to begin as soon as the necessary trees are removed.
About a dozen trees will need to be removed from the section opposite the former timber mill while three will need to go from the other area.
The decision to remove a limited number of the trees follows consultation undertaken last month by council with residents of the town about the trees along the town’s main road, Thomas Drive, after council’s arborist found that the majority of cypress pines were about 80 years old, in poor to average health, and nearing end-of-life.
The report recommended that all the trees be removed and replaced with Claret Ash trees.
However, elected members, after lengthy discussion, opted to remove only those necessary to enable the roadworks to proceed.
Council’s consultation included two drop-in sessions at the Mount Burr Football Club where residents were able to discuss the proposed tree replacement with elected members and council staff and vote for their preferred tree removal option which included removing and replacing all trees along the service road being reconstructed opposite the former timber mill, or removing and replacing some trees, or removal of only the trees essential to the road upgrades.
From more than 160 invitation letters delivered to each residence the week before the consultation sessions, 15 responses were received during the consultation sessions with the option of only removing the trees necessary for the work to proceed being the most favoured with eight votes.
In light of the low number of responses, Council staff reported back to elected members that it may not be representative of the feeling of the town.
Council staff also reported that one of the respondees asked for their vote to be changed to remove and replace all the trees when one of the old trees recently dropped a large branch.
“This does highlight concerns with the safety of these trees,” read the report from Council staff.
Cr Deb Agnew opposed the recommendation and instead moved that Council remove only those trees necessary to undertake the work.
“I am a bit concerned they have given us the answer but we are going against what they have voted for,” Cr Agnew said.
“I think the people have spoken,” Cr Agnew said, acknowledging the small but majority vote and adding that the word around town, regardless of the consultation results, was to retain as many trees as possible while also ensuring the works went ahead.
“They understand that some will need to go, but they are not in favour of them all going,” she said.
Cr Sharon Cox seconded Cr Agnew’s motion and the motion was carried by a slim majority.
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