Kamo resident concerned problematic magnolias may remain after Whangārei District Council meeting

Brentwood Ave resident Lynda Goulden constantly worries about roots from the magnolia on the berm outside her house growing into her garage. Photo / Michael Cunningham

The thorny issue of Brentwood Ave magnolias branched out into debate about trees versus footpaths and more at a Whangārei District Council (WDC) briefing meeting.

Kamo's Brentwood Ave residents want their avenue of 34, up to 7m high, roadside berm magnolias cut down after two broken arms, a twisted ankle and falls from uneven footpaths as a result of the trees' spreading roots.

The briefing meeting on Thursday came ahead of a June 23 full council meeting where councillors will formally decide on whether or not to cut down the trees or deal with the problems they cause in another way.

The debate talked first of the magnolia trees as the problem. It then branched out to the footpath. Temporary repairs that had become permanent were seen as part of the issue that also needed addressing, amidst budget constraints and the council's already-in-place district-wide footpath replacement schedule.

Brentwood Ave resident Lynda Goulden said the issue was first and foremost not the footpaths. It was about the trees, which needed to be cut down to ensure the problem did not become any worse.

Goulden said the issue of replanting an avenue of appropriate trees along the street and fixing the footpath could come next.

She said health and safety issues created by the trees needed attention.

Goulden was only moderately sure the council would on June 23 vote in favour of the trees being cut down following Thursday's meeting.

"We don't want to find ourselves, two years from now still discussing the problem," her husband Peter Goulden said.

Goulden said councillors were clearly worried about the precedent created by cutting down the magnolias because the council was facing a growing number of other potential locations around the town heading towards needing similar attention.

"They are aware it will potentially open the floodgates for every man and his dog," she said.

But that was for the council to sort out not Brentwood Ave residents, Goulden added.

Cutting down whole avenues of trees is unusual. WDC has only done similar work twice previously in Morningside and Ōtangarei.

The issue of the Brentwood Ave magnolias was debated among councillors at Thursday's meeting for 45 minutes. Some said the council should pay for the trees to be cut down, others said the community needed to.

Brentwood Ave residents have said they will pay for the tree chopping and replacement, planting agreed new trees themselves if needs be.

Goulden said they did not however want to pay for the resource consent WDC said was necessary to do the job.

■ Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.