However, I am less sanguine than Mr Kosova about the adequacy of Vincent's policies to prevent recurrence, especially as they appear to give property owners the right to have trees pruned up to the property boundary without having to provide any reasons for doing so - I understand that the Mary Street pruning was approved on the basis that the trees overhung one property and deposited leaves in the gutters.
Incidentally, if the 'problem' was essentially one of leaves in the gutters, surely it would be more cost-effective to install good leaf-guard in the gutters.
Whilst pruning to the property boundary might not be a problem in typical streetscapes, with smaller and spaced-out trees, exceptional treescapes, like Mary Street require greater protection.
I sincerely hope the City assesses its option with regard to the contractor, including the potential for seeking damages and removing this contractor from the City's preferred contractor list, but nothing can remediate the mutilation.
It is essential that Council take steps to minimise the potential for recurrence. With this in mind, I shall be requesting Council to:
a) Put an immediate ban on any works on the Mary Street trees, unless clearly and demonstrably required for safety purposes, until such time as the issues leading to the recent mutilation have been adequately addressed.
b) Develop a specific management plan for the Mary Street trees, recognising the importance of maintaining the appearance of the streetscape as well as the health of individual trees.
c) Nominate the Mary Street treescape for inclusion on the State Heritage Register - there are already 20 trees or groups of trees on the Register.
The current Street Trees policy (2.1.2) does not adequately address the Mary Street situation - for example, it appears to grant an unqualified right to property line pruning (Clause 4), which is not appropriate where such pruning might adversely affect the value and amenity of the rest of the treescape.
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| https://perthvoiceinteractive.com/2017/09/08/what-a-fig-up |
Well done Ian for pursuing this. Gerri and I liaised with the council earlier in the year about the over zealous street tree pruning around our area of North Perth. No surprise that the council told us that everything was done in accordance with the council's street tree policy - even though the pruning varies across the suburb. For example, on my street, some trees are pruned vertically at the footpath and road - so that they have been shaped into a cube. Not a leaf of shade across the footpath or road. This pruning took place in January and June this year, which I was surprised about.
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of interest, were you provided with documentary evidence of the communication that took place between the City and contractor, which has led to the City placing the responsibility for the Mary St pruning on them?
Cheers
Andrew
Thanks Andrew - good to hear from you again.
DeleteI addressed Council at the meeting last night (see http://ianrker-vincent.blogspot.com.au/2017/09/mary-street-trees-my-requests-to.html) and have put a note in my diary to follow up before the silly season hits us.