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Workers remove beech trees from the roadside on Monday.
photo: Photo courtesy of Josh Bailey
It’s a giant, flashing road sign telling Whiteman Bangkok resident Josh Bailey that the time is up.
For the past two years, residents of the Katherine Mansfield Avenue community in Upper Hutt have been fighting to stop chainsaws from felling a grove of beech trees, some of which are more than 400 years old, because of a road widening project that is designed to make access to the new subdivision safer.
But when Bailey turned onto the gravel road last Tuesday night, illuminated letters told him the road would be closed for three days next week.
Trees were cut down today amid a heavy rain alert.
On Sunday afternoon, about 20 people gathered on the roadside to say goodbye – “spending time with the trees, telling them, ‘These things have been gone since there have been people here, and tomorrow they will be gone’.”
Fourteen trees were marked with blue dots for removal, of which 12 survived and four died.
Bailey’s own similar patch of forest, which backs onto roadside trees, is protected by the Elizabeth II Treaty and has been surveyed twice, which he says revealed a wealth of unique biodiversity.
Residents and environmentalists gathered on Sunday in a last-ditch effort to draw attention to the plight of trees that were cut down the next day.
photo: supply
“Those trees are more than just fence posts. You can’t just cut a few down and not have an impact on the trees around them. They’re part of the system,” Bailey said. Even the dead trees are habitat for other species.
Amelia Geary, of Forest and Bird, said Sunday’s rally was a “last ditch attempt” to get a message to parliament.
“There are mixed emotions,” she said. “On the one hand, people are despairing about the loss of trees, but on the other hand, there is also anger at the poor decision-making of Upper Hutt City Council.”
She had proposed a one-way system similar to a single-lane bridge, but that was rejected.
But the city council said the final road redesign was still a compromise.
All of the black beech trees shown have been removed.
photo: Photo courtesy of Jean Claude Stahl
Helen Hamilton, director of planning and regulatory services, said the final plan to realign the road narrowed the shoulder and added curves to preserve as many trees as possible.
Initially, three design options were considered, “one that took into account the minimum requirements of Upper Hutt City Council’s Civil Engineering Construction Regulations, and the other two that considered reducing standards to save more trees”.
“Following an independent road safety audit, we determined that the reduction in safety caused by the alternative solution was unacceptable.”
She said there had been one accident on the road so far. “If the road is not widened, there is a possibility of more frequent and more serious accidents.”
Councillor Tracy Utter said their defeat was disappointing. The vote took place during the last council term and she said more councillors might vote in favour of protecting the trees if it were held today.
Although the battle was lost, Bailey said he hopes some good can come from its legacy, and he plans to study how the ecosystem changes after the trees were cut down to help inform future decisions.
Researchers have taken photographs of the trees and the forest as a whole and will continue monitoring to assess the impact of its loss.
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