Two of the iconic Norfolk pines which have lined Napier’s Marine Parade for 140 years have been cut down.
Crews from Clive firm Superior Exterior Treecare, assisted by a crane, started lopping the trees about 8am on Thursday, with the Napier City Council saying they’d been assessed unsafe after being damaged by the extremes of a fire at the vacated Kiwi Keith’s backpackers lodge, which burnt down in August 2023.
Protected under the District Plan, the trees have undergone a condition assessment that concluded the trees could not be saved, staff said.
“There was the risk of branches or the trees falling on vehicles or people during weather events or high winds,” staff said. “Removing the trees is the safest option given these risks.”
The trees were planted well over 100 years ago, and could have lived for another 100 had they not been damaged.