Elms make way for homes

MANDY SMITH
Central Hawke's Bay residents were told just one historic tree would be cut down to make way for a new development. But on Tuesday eleven 130-year-old elm trees were felled.
Central Hawke's Bay District Council allowed 11 of the elms lining Hatuma Road, south of Waipukurau, to be felled to make way for a road to the planned Hatuma Heights subdivision.
In March the council gave provisional approval for the intersection, requiring one tree to be cut down.
At the time, a group of residents, led by former CHB deputy mayor Jim Shand, were worried the 130-year-old elm trees would be destroyed if the intersection went ahead.
CHB mayor Tim Gilbertson told Hawke's Bay Today only "one unsafe tree" needed to be removed and there would be no impact on the rest of the stand.
But the council changed its mind last month when an independent tree surgeon it commissioned recommended 11 trees near the proposed intersection be removed for safety reasons.
"The report states that elm trees are notorious for falling limbs," said CHBDC communications officer Shelly Burne-Field.
"They will cost thousands of dollars a year to maintain and the report states that they may only have five to 30 years left."
The trees' loose branches were also a hazard, causing road closures during storms.
"The report asks the same question that council asks: are these suitable trees to overhang a busy road?" she said. The council knew the trees were valued by the community and it had asked the developer, Terry Story, to plant a replacement stand of trees - expected to be mainly evergreen oaks.
She said the council was satisfied with the intersection's safety, especially after Mr Story bought land adjacent to the subdivision to widen the road.
Mr Story said construction at the 45-hectare lifestyle block development would begin soon, with the first sections going on the market in November.
None of the residents concerned could be reached before Hawke's Bay Today went to print.