A developer’s petition to remove a 50-year-old gum tree at a redevelopment site in Bellevue Hill has been denied by the Woollahra Local Planning Panel.
Despite the best efforts of the developer to convince the local panel to take down two grown trees at 9A Cooper Park Road, the decision remained unfavourable to them.
The developer’s plan was to remove a Port Jackson fig tree and the 50-year old Eucalypt. However, the panel decided that the gum tree must stay as it is considered a community asset. As for the removal of the fig tree, no objections from both panel and locals were received.
Tree Protection Zone
To ensure that the famous gum tree of Bellevue Hill is well protected, the Woollahra Local Planning Panel ruled that a 1.8-metre fence must first be built around the tree. Cabling, bracing, and other possible stability measures must also take place in order to ensure its long term protection and stability.
In addition to these compulsory measures given by the panel, the developer must also see to it that no construction work should be carried out within four metres of the tree.
All these requirements in creating a tree protection zone must be established around all retained trees in the area in accordance with the development’s approval.
Residents’ Reaction
For the last four years, concerned residents have been sending submissions calling for the preservation of all the trees at the proposed development site. Much emphasis and focus were given to the suburb’s 50-year-old gum tree.
Photo credit: www.cooperparkcommunitygarden.org.au
Included amongst those who wrote submissions was Woollahra’s 2018 Citizen of the Year, Torsten Blackwood.