Councillors at this morning’s Assets and Services Committee meeting have decided to retain three mature street trees along Lakings Road after an arborist’s report deemed the trees as healthy and low risk to members of the public.

The report follows a request from a Lakings Road resident for Council to remove three trees - a Pin Oak (Quercus palustris), a Willow Oak (Quercus phellos) and a beech tree (Fagus species), because of their size, the debris they produce, and the possible damage they could cause to underground services. The resident also suggested the trees pose a threat to life, and/or property during periods of high winds.

Assets and Services Chair, Deputy Mayor Nadine Taylor, said when the 2019 arborist’s report was considered alongside the provisions of the Council’s Tree Policy, councillors agreed that there was insufficient justification for removing the three trees.

“They are healthy specimens and as the arborist has pointed out, they are well-adapted to frequent high wind events that are common in Marlborough and pose only a low risk. They have no visible structural defects or signs or symptoms of pest and diseases, and they provide considerable character and amenity for the local area.”

“A survey of Lakings Road residents, and feedback from the wider community also found in favour of retaining the trees with 72% of people supporting their preservation,” Deputy Mayor Taylor said.

In making its decision the Committee supported on-going annual monitoring of the trees’ health and condition as part of a maintenance programme.

For more information on Council’s Tree Policy visit: www.marlborough.govt.nz/recreation/parks-and-open-spaces/trees/tree-policy

This decision is subject to final adoption at the full Council meeting on Thursday 29 October.

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