An independent review has found a misunderstanding was behind the accidental near-felling of a protected tree in Tūrangi last November.

Taupō District Council asked independent investigator Bill Wasley to look into the process that resulted in a large red oak in Taupahi Road being severely pruned instead of having two overhanging branches trimmed as requested.

The incident occurred after the council had received and approved a request to trim the tree. Following its usual practice, it then contracted an independent arborist to perform the work and provided a written copy of the request.

Mr Wasley’s review concluded that the request for work passed to the contractor was not clear enough; and the pruning had been “an unfortunate one-off incident where the arborist had made an assumption about the work to be done without fully considering and understanding the service request from the council.”

The review recommended refinements to the council’s tree maintenance process and request process, to more clearly state the work required.

“The service request to be referred to the contract arborist should only contain sufficient background and clear instruction to the arborist, of what is required to be done,” the report says.

A further recommendation from Mr Wasley was that the process should include the contractor providing written confirmation to the council after finishing the job, including photographs proving that the work had been done as requested. He also recommended improving council’s processes for managing protected trees.

Council’s general manager strategy and environment, Warrick Zander, says while the investigation found a misunderstanding had been the main cause of the damage to the tree, Mr Wasley’s suggestions for improving the process of both instructing contractors and managing protected trees were welcomed and would be implemented.

“We sincerely regret the damage to this amenity tree and acknowledge and apologise for the upset this has caused to the Tūrangi community.”

A specialist arborist’s assessment has shown the tree is severely damaged and recommended it be removed. This recommendation was approved by the Tūrangi Co-Governance Committee earlier this month although a resource consent process for removal will still need to be undertaken. Council and the contractor will work together to replace the tree with an appropriate specimen.

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