Dear Anne and ISCCC
Thank you for your letter requesting more information about the TCCS tree renewal program, and for your time on the phone on Monday. As you are already aware, the Minister responsible for trees on unleased land is Minister Tara Cheyne, and she has requested that I provide you with further information. Daniel Iglesias and I would also be happy to attend a meeting to discuss the program further.
To enable City Services tree maintenance crews to address the over 10,000 tree maintenance requests received each year, large dead or failing trees, or trees that are located in inaccessible locations that are sufficiently stable are allocated to an annual contractor removal program. The current tree removal program relates only to ‘business as usual’ removals of individual trees at end of life that are either identified through fix my street requests or by our team of arborists. The current program of 154 trees includes 45 trees in the ISCCC area (23 street trees and 22 open space trees) , incorporating 20 trees in Telopea Park which were identified as requiring replacement as part of an Infrastructure Delivery renewal project. For your information I have attached a spreadsheet of the trees included in the 2024 contractor program.
Numbers of trees in the program are dependent on external contractor capacity and funding and previous years programs range in the amount delivered. For reference the last few years programs have included the following numbers:
2024: 154 trees
2023: 125 trees
2022: 159 trees
2021: 169 trees
These removal programs are very minor in relation to the over 833,700 trees managed by City Services across the urban footprint of Canberra. As the urban forest continues to mature and age, there will be an increase in trees requiring replacement. In early 2024, the capture and analysis of high-resolution multi-spectral aerial imagery which indicates the health and condition of public trees across the ACT’s urban footprint will result in an urban forest condition report. This will assist in programming urban forest management actions based on the results of the data analysis. City Services will be engaging with the community, the ISCCC included, to share what we have learned, and work towards a coordinated urban renewal program.
In the interim, City Services will endeavour to share the proposed program of trees scheduled for replacement with the relevant community councils prior to program commencement as requested.
In relation to the two trees scheduled for replacement at 58 National Circuit Forrest, these trees have been assessed as requiring replacement for some years and have reached a point where they are considered a safety risk to the community. I have provided some images below to demonstrate the significant structural defects in these trees. Our arborists have attended the site and discussed these defects with the resident, and I believe he is resigned to one of the trees being removed. The program manager has offered to attempt to address the defects of the second tree with pruning, removing all of the decayed wood, however, the resident was advised that this will result in a disfigured tree with very little amenity value. This course of action was proposed in an effort to address the resident’s concern about losing both trees, however, it was stressed that this is not good arboriculture practice and may speed up the decline of the tree. If while undertaking the proposed pruning work it is discovered that wood decay extends into the remaining branch unions, then a decision will be made to remove this tree in its entirety to address the risk to public safety. In this event a replacement tree will be provided.
Approval is sought from ACT Heritage Council prior to the removal and replacement of any trees in heritage areas through this program, with support provided for the removal of the trees at 58 National Circuit:
- Two Quercus palustris will be removed and replaced outside of 58 National Circuit, Forrest. This area is in the Forrest Housing Precinct.
- The features intrinsic to the Forrest Housing Precinct include generous landscaped verges containing substantial street trees and one of the conservation objectives of the Precinct is to conserve and reinforce the historical pattern of street trees consistent with early Garden City principles and contemporary social values. The removal and replacement of the two specified trees will not diminish the significance of the place and is in accordance with the Guidelines for this Precinct.