Council has reviewed its Tree Management on Public Land policy and is now seeking feedback from the community.
Mayor Clare Stewart said that Noosa Shire’s landscape is characterised by its abundant green assets and our trees are fundamental to the character of Noosa Shire.
“Trees provide social, cultural, economic, and environmental benefits to our community,” Cr Stewart said.
“They shade our streets and parks, cool and soften our buildings, enhance our streets and provide homes and food for our local wildlife. They also prevent soil erosion, filter wind, reduce noise and air pollutants, store carbon and produce oxygen.”
“However, trees can also present a risk to both people and property and Council need to manage this risk whilst maintaining trees as valuable assets where possible and safe to do so,” she said.
Over the past 12 months, Council has received nearly 2,800 queries from the community in relation to trees requiring investigation and action.
Civil and Assets Operations Manager Bryan O’Connor, said community expectations regarding trees are increasing, evident by tree-related customer requests being the highest category received by Council.
“We know trees invoke a mix of feelings across the community. People can attach intrinsic values to certain trees, or value all trees for their environmental benefits,” Mr O’Connor said.
“Conversely, some community members are fearful of the potential risks presented by trees, especially in relation to storms and bushfire events. Council regularly receives both types of enquiries in response to decisions relating to retention or removal of various trees.”
Council currently delivers a proactive tree management program which allows us to plan tree works across the year so we can reduce the volume of reactive tree works required.
“The revised policy is designed to provide greater detail on how council deals with requests for tree removal and pruning,” said Cr Stewart.
“The changes add more detail to the existing framework, helping the community to better understand the process for decision making as well as provide greater transparency and consistency in decision making through greater policy detail.”
Consultation on Council’s Tree Management on Public Land policy is now open and will close on 24 June, 2022. Take the survey here – yoursay.noosa.qld.gov.au/tree-management-policy
