Tree awaits removal, nine months later
A tree in Umina is still awaiting removal, nine months after it was scheduled for removal by Gosford Council.
The tree was initially brought to the attention of Council in 2010 by a resident of Harold St.
"At the time, the tree was assessed as being in a satisfactory condition," said Gosford Council's maintenance coordinator Mr Mark Smith.
"In June 2011, the resident at 5 Harold St complained that the tree was dangerous and it was inspected immediately.
"The tree was found to have some upper canopy decay and was subsequently approved for removal.
"As for each tree works request, the tree is assessed using certain safety criteria and then given a ranking to determine a timeframe for removal.
"The tree in question was scheduled to be removed within 12 months.
"After further requests, the customer was recently advised that the tree was now scheduled for removal by the end of April.
"This is still the case, although that is qualified as being subject to availability of resources and weather conditions," said Mr Smith.
Mr Smith also said that at the time of the original notification, the customer was given the standard advice that: "Council is unable to provide a specific date as to when works will be undertaken as all works are subject to availability of funding and resources taking into account storms and/or other urgent works."
Mr Smith said given the number of tree work applications and the list of trees assessed to be removed, Council prioritised all tree removals to ensure urgent works were carried out first.
"The local government area is also subject to severe storms that cause tree damage and branch drop, sometimes blocking roads and damaging other vital services," said Mr Smith.
"This work is a priority and does impact on the planned works program.
"Unfortunately, resources do not allow all trees to be attended to immediately and some trees may not be attended to within the nominated time frame.
"Council is currently reviewing how it addresses the many requests it receives for tree works from residents and it hopes to be able to reduce response times in the future," said Mr Smith.
Kaitlin Watts, 28 Mar 2013
Interviewee: Mark Smith, Gosford Council