Castlecliff Four Square owner urges council to tackle problem pōhutukawa tree

Vivek Bangia says people have taught him how to kill the tree but he doesn't want to go down that route. Photo / Bevan Conley

Castlecliff Four Square owner Vivek Bangia has told Whanganui District councillors the pōhutukawa tree outside his shop has cost him thousands of dollars.

Bangia wants Whanganui District Council to remove it and pleaded his case to the council’s operations and performance committee, saying the tree was causing damage to his building’s infrastructure and to the roadside and car park.

It had become a health and safety risk and everything was “either sinking or lifting up”, he said.

While it was beautiful, the roots were a major problem.

“A lot of the kids have tried to climb up and the tree has broken down. It’s not a really healthy state.

“The drainage in front of it is constantly blocked. It’s cost me a few thousand dollars over the years and the cost is just going up and up.”

Bangia said he had gone to the council over the past four years “in every shape and form” to find a solution.

“We never get anywhere.”

Councillor Jenny Duncan had helped him write a letter to the council a few years back, Bangia said.

“I have customers falling on the road, I have ladies who have hurt themselves, and before it becomes a major, big problem, we need a solution from you.

“I’m not against the tree. I’m happy if you want to put another tree there and we would love to take care of it like we did with this one for so many years.

“Financially, it is not viable for me to keep footing the bill.”

People had taught him how to kill the tree but he didn’t want to go down that route, Bangia said.

His guess was that the tree was on council land and it was the council’s responsibility.

Councillor Charlotte Melser asked if Bangia’s preferred outcome would be for the council to replace the tree with something else.

Bangia said he would like to have a tree there if he could.

“I have a vested interest in that - it saves me from ram raiding. I’m being honest here, it does that purpose for me.

“I would like something put there that can be managed - make it beautiful and put some seating around there for people.”

Melser said she had trouble with pōhutukawa roots herself in the past.

In her situation, they had “completely filled drains” and split them.

Plumbers cleared and fixed his drains three or four times per year at a cost of $500-600 per visit, Bangia said.

Council chief executive David Langford said he would talk to the council’s roading and parks teams to see whether the tree was the council’s responsibility.

“If it is, we’ll see what work is needed.”

Duncan said pōhutukawa were beautiful trees but their roots were “embedded in drains and case law”.

“We thank Mr Bangia for his presentation and leave it in the CEO’s [Langford’s] hands.”

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.