Date: February 24th 2014

Safety concerns contribute to the removal of trees in Flaxmere

Safety considerations have contributed to the need to remove a number of mature trees in Chatham Road Flaxmere.

Hastings District Council is to remove approximately 40 trees on Chatham Road between the intersections with Columbus Crescent, due to their declining state.

Parks and Property Services Manager Colin Hosford says “Recent monitoring of the state of the trees in the stand closest to the roadside has revealed that many are showing signs of serious decline. This could cause limb breakage in strong winds which raises safety concerns, particularly for pedestrians using the nearby footpath.”

“We believe that it is prudent to remove a number of the worst affected trees at this time and then continue monitoring the remainder over the next 12 – 24 months to ensure that their decline doesn’t get to a point where they also cause safety concerns,” Colin Hosford says.

“Trees go through a number of phases during their growth cycle before going into decline. Once they enter the decline stage there is little that can be done to turn back the clock and removal for safety reasons is often the only option. Unfortunately, the Chatham Road trees have reached the decline stage.”

The stumps will be removed at a later date and a time frame for any reinstatement is still to be determined.

Safety fencing and a traffic management plan will be put in place to ensure the safety of the public during the removal. The project will begin on Monday 3rd March and is expected to take around 2 weeks (weather dependent).

ENDS

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