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A total of 21 new trees have been added to Auckland Council’s Notable Tree Schedule, while 51 trees have been removed.
In Mahurangi, a macrocarpa at 1136 Takatu Road was added and an oak at Wellsford Valley Reserve, Port Albert, was removed.
A Planning Committee report said the removal of trees from the schedule was either because of poor tree health or the tree was no longer present. Policy planner Teuila Young said that many tree nominations had been sitting for “quite some time” before being assessed by an arborist.
“When the arborist goes to assess them, the health of the tree may have deteriorated,” Young said.
Cr Richard Hills said the current way of protecting trees was not sustainable and acknowledged the need for better protection from central government.
“We are moving backwards in the number of trees in private spaces and we know the Medium Density Residential Standards are a further threat,” Hills said.
He said the public nomination was not all that was needed to add a tree to the schedule and it was far more complicated than people realised. Hills said it cost up to $2000 for a tree to be added to the Notable Tree Schedule.
Cr Pippa Coom commended work from the Tree Council and advocates for trees in Auckland.
“There’s a lot of anxiety about our urban canopy and trees being removed for urban development,” Coom said. “We must continue to advocate to government to restore tree protections.”
