Gold Coast: Norfolk Island pine to be torn down from Burleigh Street after being damaged
The Gold Coast’s second-largest Norfolk Island Pine will have to be removed after being damaged on a development site.
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THE second-largest Norfolk Island Pine at Burleigh will have to be removed after being damaged on a development site.
The tree has sustained too much damage and the council intends to dig it up next week.
Photographs taken by the newspaper had shown the branches removed and some damage to tree roots, as fencing was put around the tree on a site in Second Avenue earmarked for a high rise development.
Council put in a vegetation protection order to try and save the tree.
However, a council spokesman said its roots were damaged by excavation works, and it was overpruned, before the order came into effect on January 30.
City officers and an independent arborist assessed the Norfolk Island Pine tree on February 5.
“The independent arborist reported the long-term health and structural viability of the tree had been compromised due to the amount of major structural and anchoring root damage,” the spokesperson said.
“It was recommended the tree be removed and this work has been authorised. The tree removal will occur next week at a cost to the landowner.”
The Bulletin asked how many public submissions were received on the vegetation protection order, and could council elaborate on the number that were “for” saving the tree, and the number “against”.
“The City has received a small number of public submissions, with the public notification process for the VPO underway until March 3,” a spokesman said.
“As there is a council resolution to progress the VPO process in accordance with the local law, a separate council resolution is required to cease this process. A report is currently proposed to be brought back to council to resolve the VPO.”
The Bulletin understands the report would address issues like fines and costs from the investigation.
A council report this month detailed how developers could exploit a legal loophole allowing them to destroy heritage trees.
Developers can remove a tree by relying on “acceptable development requirements prior to major work on a site. Vegetation can be cleared within 1.5m of a property boundary fence without a development approval.
Councillors had unanimously voted to launch the VPO — a rare occurrence — and some voiced their disgust at the damage done to the tree.
The developers have not responded to several requests for comment by the Bulletin.
Allure Property Corporation has filed plans with the council for a 17-storey apartment project on the corner of Second Avenue and The Esplanade at Burleigh Heads.
Construction of the tower, 88 Burleigh, is expected to begin in late 2021 if approved.
It will feature 27 three-bedroom units, with just two per floor, all of which will be 200sq m or more.
LAST WEEK:
TWO old Norfolk Island pines are being removed from Marine Parade at Miami shocking residents who have gathered outside.
Some residents suspect the old trees have been poisoned by a local along the waterfront street.
The damage to the trees follows a recent incident at Burleigh Heads which sparked community outrage after roots of the second largest Norfolk Pine in the area were damaged.
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A resident told the Bulletin: “The tree lopping company arrived this morning at Miami. They were here since 7am. They have shaved the first tree and have started on the second one. The trees are dead. They will be removed.”
Some residents believe the trees were deliberately poisoned six to eight months ago.
“One of the residents in the unit awoke to the sound of drilling,” a resident said.
Frontier Tree Services, which has been tasked with removing the trees, has confirmed they were dead.
A representative said: “We wouldn’t remove them without reason.
“The owners of the site contacted us for a quote. Council told (the owners) they had to be removed, and our arborist went out and confirmed they were dead.
“There are replacement pine trees being put in the site.”
The representative added the site owners also believed the pines may have been poisoned but could not confirm who was responsible.
The trees are fronting a small three-storey unit block.
It’s the second incident regarding Norfolk pines on the Gold Coast in less than a month.
A Bulletin report last week revealed a legal loophole allows developers and property owners to destroy heritage trees like the one in Burleigh Heads.
Councillors voted to make a protection order to save the tree, which was damaged outside a Second Avenue development site.
Developers are allowed to remove a tree by relying on “acceptable development requirements” prior to major work on a site.
The Bulletin asked council to explain the law and was told the City Plan’s Vegetation Management Code regulates clearing around property boundary fences.
The code includes provisions around maintenance or construction of a property boundary fence which allows vegetation to be cleared within 1.5m of fencing for land parcels less than 4000sqm in size.
“If not already present, the boundary fence must be constructed within 21 days of the damage to vegetation,” a council spokesman said.
The council can protect the tree through a VPO but officers would need to be aware of any damage to vegetation during meetings in the lead-up to a development application.
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