Unpleasant prospect of losing old Mt Pleasant tree
A stoush has erupted over a tall, 87-year-old tree in Christchurch’s Mt Pleasant. Eddie du Plessis and neighbours on Seamount Tce want to save the 21-metre tall manna gum tree, but it was understood the owner planned to cut it down as soon as today.
‘‘We’ve lost so much [since the earthquakes] and to lose something else that people treasure is unnecessary,’’ du Plessis said. ‘‘We want a stay of execution,’’ he said.
The owner believed the tree was a safety risk, according to Christchurch city councillor Sara Templeton. She spoke to him last week, The Press could not make contact.
Branches cross the property line and the owner would be liable if damage or injury was caused by falling branches, she said.
Some species of gum trees, also known as eucalyptus, can lose heavy branches without warning.
The tree has not been maintained since the 2011 earthquakes, when the previous owners moved away. The current owner bought the land about a year ago, according to du Plessis.
The owner planned to replace the tree with New Zealand natives after rebuilding the house.
The tree has been on council’s notable tree list for decades, but lost that designation in a district plan review in 2015-16 when hundreds of Christchurch trees lost their protected status.
Neighbours were unaware the tree’s status was under review and had been changed, campaigner Derry Lee said. They discovered it was to be cut about two weeks ago.
Du Plessis and Lee have been door-knocking neighbours and started a petition to save the tree.
They agreed tree maintenance was urgently needed and ongoing upkeep would cost about $1000 a year. Du Plessis was considering setting up a trust to pay for its maintenance.
‘‘It’s a beautiful tree and a landmark tree,’’ said Templeton, but the owner now had the legal right to cut it down.
The district plan review was not a good process, she said.
‘‘It was not community friendly.’’
"We've lost so much [since the earthquakes] and to lose something else that people treasure is unnecessary." Neighbour Eddie du Plessis