City of Palmerston makes amendments to forest preservation policy, outlines framework for 1000 trees

Tree management and protection proved to be big talking points at a Top End council meeting on Tuesday, with the council passing a number of policies that could see more than 1000 trees planted.

The City of Palmerston have made a number of amendments to its existing tree policy, as well as provided an update to its tree replacement program which will see about 1000 trees planted around the town. Picture: Sam Lowe

The City of Palmerston has made a number of amendments to its existing tree policy, as well as provided an update to its tree replacement program which will see about 1000 trees planted around the town.

At the ordinary council meeting on Tuesday, a number of amendments were made to the existing Preserving our Urban Forest Policy to now include more detailed approaches towards tree maintenance and planting.

It also included three new tree protection measures for trees that could be impacted by development and construction.

Athina Pascoe-Bell, Mayor City of Palmerston, checking out new trees in Tracy Park, Woodroffe planted in November. Photo: City of Palmerston

These include: (1) a tree protection zone is to be established for each tree for the duration of any works, (2) reinstatement fees may apply if trees are knocked down during the works and (3) investigations must be conducted to determine if a “significant tree” is present on the site.

A “significant tree” is defined by its historical, cultural, social, ecological, and exceptional visual and aesthetic value, according to the report.

It is understood the new policy was passed on Tuesday and came into immediate effect.

The consultation period for the amended policy began on January 30 and closed on March 3, with only a handful of submissions made, according to the agenda.

While all submissions that required a follow-up or clarification were reportedly addressed, only one submission — which asked for “significant tree” to be defined in the policy — had any bearing on the final changes.

City of Palmerston Council generic. Picture: Sam Lowe

In a later report, it was stated about 1000 trees would be planted as part of Palmerston’s Tree Replacement Program.

Round two of the program will focus on the revegetation of bushland, starting in Hobart Park and Rosebery.

The entire cost of the project has totaled about $555,297 so far.

An audit of the planting undertaken in the first round found the death of some trees was a result of vandalism and plant failure.

These trees will be replaced in round two.

The policy was first adopted by council in September 2020 as a framework to guide decision making on the management and preservation of council trees.

While it has consistently been applied “without significant issues”, council said it saw a number of tree management considerations that were not included.