Council move to protect Hornsby tree canopy following 10/50 law ‘free-for-all’
IT MAY be known as the ‘bushland shire’ but Hornsby has lost approximately 15,000 trees in the past year. If nothing is done to protect the area there will be no trees left in 34 years, the council says.
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IT MAY be known as the ‘bushland shire’ but Hornsby has lost approximately 15,000 trees in the past year, sparking Hornsby Mayor Philip Ruddock to push for a tree preservation program to protect the future of native trees.
Cr Ruddock commissioned a report outlining options to strengthen tree protection measures on Wednesday last week, to re-establish Hornsby’s tree canopy, following a three per cent decline in the number of trees across the shire.
“We are known as the Bushland Shire, a title that we wear with pride and are determined to maintain,” Cr Ruddock said. “The protection of our urban greenery is one of Council’s most vital duties and it is one that we take very seriously.
“In a single year we lost 15,000, which equates to 60 hectares of canopy.”
Tree canopy data was collected by ecological consultants using high resolution aerial photography to determine the number of trees lost in the past 12 months.
Tree canopy loss on private property has significantly increased since the introduction of the NSW Government’s 10/50 Vegetation Clearing Entitlement Scheme in 2014.
The scheme made it easier for residents to remove trees from their property that posed risk of bushfire.
Hornsby councillor Emma Heyde said residents have been disturbed about the loss of canopy across the shire. “We all know that we are facing hotter and hotter suburbs and we are loosing trees faster than we can grow them,” Cr Heyde said.
“Council must do all it can to provide shade and enhance the health and wellbeing of residents.”
While councillor Nathan Tilbury said Hornsby currently had “the weakest Tree Preservation Orders in the state”.
“Currently our tree preservation orders only protect trees native to the Hornsby Shire,” Cr Tilbury said.
“Other native australian trees are not protected.”
Total Tree Loss in one year per hectare:
Beecroft: 181sq m
Hornsby: 139sq m
Mt Colah: 137sq m
Westleigh: 123sq m
Wahroonga: 121sq m
Pennant Hills: 112sq m
Cheltenham: 90sq m
Berowra: 89sq m
Hornsby Heights: 79sq m
Beecroft Cheltenham Alliance spokesman Ross Walker said the main driving force behind a lack of prosecution around the illegal removal of trees was due to cost saving measures.
“We have seen a major loss of trees across the Beecroft and Cheltenham in the past, so I commend the Mayor for pushing for tree preservation,” Mr Walker said.
Alliance member Trish Brown said the region’s endangered Gang Gang Cockatoo colony was also greatly impacted by 10/50 laws.
“The 10/50 was the biggest habitat killer for Gang Gang Cockatoos,” she said. “People went around the shire cutting down trees and impacting the habitat of these endangered birds.
“Council employed Dr Peter Smith to look at the impact of development applications on the colony for each development, however, it is the cumulative effect of tree loss with development that is causing this problem.”
Arcadia dumping site
A Hornsby Council spokesman said there has been no significant reduction in tree canopy on public land in Hornsby Shire, “as all three levels of government have policies to replace any trees that need to be removed”.
“If the current tree protection measures in the Development Control Plans are not changed and no other initiatives are deployed, it is calculated that at the current rate of tree loss in urban areas there would be no trees at all in 34 years time,” the spokesman said.