General News
13 May, 2025
High price to remove trees
DANGEROUSLY tall trees along Mountainview Drive will be removed at an estimated cost of $96,000, but the funds will have to be found in the 2025-26 Budget.
The 80 cadaghi trees were the subject of a deputation to Tablelands Regional Council in late February by residents who wanted a number of them to be removed, saying they posed a risk to electricity supply, a risk to their property, and were a driver hazard.
A group spokesman told the council the trees, that can grow as high as 30m, were planted around a 90-degree corner on the road, with branches hanging down to 2.9m off the road.
They were currently around 27m high, twice as high as the power lines, which had created problems in the past, costing residents thousands of dollars.
The spokesman explained to the council how dangerous the trees were to motorists, bike riders, and pedestrians and also warned the trees were damaging public infrastructure such as the concrete kerbing where the roots of the trees were breaking through.
“This road is also a school bus route. Higher vehicles such as buses and trucks are forced into the wrong lane to avoid low branches, and on the right-angled corner, this is a potential calamity,” the spokesman said.
Residents had raised the issue with council in February 2024 but after Ergon advised council officers that no action was required, the matter was not progressed further.
At its April meeting, TRC agreed to remove 80 trees at an estimated cost of $96,000 which included stump grinding, traffic control, and the reinstatement of the kerb and channel.
A council report confirmed the trees were not an appropriate species for the location due to their size and placement on the verge.
“As evidenced by their size and historic aerial imagery, these trees have been in this location for many years and it is unlikely they were planted by, or on behalf of, TRC or the Atherton Shire Council prior to amalgamation,” the report stated.
“Cadaghi trees are known to drop branches and are, by some people, colloquially referred to as widow makers, however many other tree species are prone to limb drop from time to time.”
The report advised there had been four requests received by council, including two that referenced branches dropping. But officers had inspected the trees on several occasions and reported they were healthy and were not having a significant impact on council’s kerb and channel.
Infrastructure Services general manager Mark Vis admitted that council did not maintain a tree register and did not conduct systematic inspections, hazard assessments, and risk assessments of trees on council-controlled land.
Rather, tree defects or risks were either identified as part of regular road inspections or through residents reporting issues to the council.
Cr Dave Bilney asked Mr Vis whether the council would seek to replant the area with an appropriate species.
Mr Vis confirmed it would be the case, although those costs were not included in the $96,000 cost estimate to remove the trees.
The council agreed to consider including the cost to remove the trees as part of the 2025-26 Budget deliberations.
