An independent survey of 500 trees in the Newcastle Local Government Area that were recently pruned by an Ausgrid contractor found that 91 per cent had been pruned excessively and did not comply with Australian standards.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ongoing community complaints about butchered trees combined with concerns from council staff came to a head on Tuesday night when Ausgrid staff briefed the council on its rationale and protocols for tree pruning.
Thirty eight per cent of the city's urban trees in the LGA are located under aerial power lines.
While the council owns the trees, Ausgrid is responsible for ensuring they do not become a safety hazard and routinely prunes branches to ensure they do not contact power lines.
READ MORE:
Ausgrid data shows about half of the trees, or 26,939 trees, located under powerlines in the LGA are classified as 'unsuitable'. Many of these trees, such as brushbox, eucalyptus and jacaranda, were planted in decades past.
Ausgrid representative Frank Roberson told councillors that the utility shared the council's goals of ensuring community safety and promoting biodiversity and tree health.
"But because we have different mandates and because of the way vegetation management is carried out we sometimes weigh these priorities differently," Mr Roberson said.
"Broadly though we want the same things and whether the trees are pruned by council and paid for by ratepayers or pruned by Ausgrid and paid for by electricity bills, the community pays to fix this problem."
City of Newcastle data shows 895 street trees were seriously damaged as a result of pruning by Ausgrid contractors in 2016. Of those, 187 were so badly damaged that they had to be removed.
IN THE NEWS:
A council spokeswoman said only one site for tree removal and replacement currently existed within the city..
"This will be funded by Ausgrid with City of Newcastle delivering the design and planting for new trees," she said.
"Whilst Ausgrid has offered removal and replacement costs for this priority demonstration site, there still remains a need for engineered solutions such as bundled cable, pole replacements, and undergrounding power. Ongoing meetings between Ausgrid and council staff will work toward developing a 10 year forward program to address the legacy of existing tree impacts."
City of Newcastle has been proactive in new tree planting through specification in a Street Tree Selection Manual developed in 2016. The fast-growing street tree examples provided by Ausgrid in their presentation to councillors were exclusively of trees planted prior to 2016.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark: newcastleherald.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News