Apologies after ‘precious’ trees accidentally felled
Gaps are left in a line of poplar trees on Kinloch Rd after a mistake by council contractors.
A contractor who accidentally removed 16 popular poplar trees on Kinloch Rd has apologised and says they will replace them with the largest specimens they can find.
Several residents were furious to discover the trees – which were about 15-years-old – had been removed along with the self-sown trees that were meant to be culled.
In a joint statement with Taupō District Council on Tuesday afternoon HEB Construction, which is contracted by Taupō District Council for road maintenance services, said it was “deeply disappointed” and was undertaking a full investigation.
The company had been tasked with removing a number of self-sown trees in the road reserve which were too close to the carriageway.
In the statement, it said Council staff had clearly marked the trees to be removed and had instructed that the nearby community-planted trees were to be left alone.
HEB contract manager Graeme Stokes said the work was sub-contracted to an arborist.
“Unfortunately, trees not marked out for removal were also felled.
“We will be replacing the trees that were mistakenly felled with the largest size specimens we will be able to find. Of course, we acknowledge that they won’t be as large as the trees that have already been removed and it will take time for them to grow to fill the gaps.
“We sincerely apologise to the community for the distress caused and to the people who originally planted the trees.”
In all, more than a dozen community trees were felled. The original number was reported as five but a full audit of the site by both HEB and council staff has now confirmed the final number is 16.
Taupō District Council chief executive Julie Gardyne says the council also apologises and acknowledges that it should have informed the community of the planned work prior to it happening.
“We work hard to keep our communities engaged and up-to-date with work happening in their area and we have regular Kinloch Representative Group meetings where this could have been raised. Trees are an especially important issue in our local communities and we commit to doing better.
“I want to thank those who noticed that work was happening and alerted council immediately so that staff could attend promptly and stop it.”
While the accidentally-felled trees were significant to the local community, the council says none were designated as protected amenity trees under the Taupō District Plan.
The trees had been planted as replacements or to fill gaps along the western side of the road, with the planting undertaken by members of the Kinloch Community Association in agreement with the Taupō District Council.
A local resident who contact Taupō & Tūrangi News said when she stopped to question the contractors felling the trees just after midday on Wednesday that a council staffer was already on the scene having been alerted by someone in The Poplars subdivision.
“I’m a tree lover and these are iconic trees… I was sort of raving a bit, probably, because I was so upset,” said the resident, who did not wish to be named.
“Those of us who live in The Poplars feel a bit precious about those trees.”