By Margaret Maccoll
Angry locals watched on helpless at Park Road Noosa Main Beach on Friday as another established gum tree fell victim to development.
As the chainsaws sliced through the majestic tree residents including James Hordern tried to contact Noosa Council in a bid to stop the decimation”It’s a real shame to see the end of Noosa Beach look more and more like Palm Beach in Sydney everyday – that is, all houses,” he said.
“It’s sad that the new owners of these properties are determined to improve their views and have no desire to keep Noosa natural. It’s a koala habitat.”
But Noosa Council said their efforts to protect the tree had also failed due to the owner’w unapproved work.
Council’s Development Assessment manager Kerri Coyle said the felled tree was one of a number of trees that were to be retained under the original development approval for the site, in order to maintain the treed canopy backdrop to Main Beach.
“However, the tree’s root system was impacted by works the landowner undertook without Council approval back in April 2018,” she said.
“Council issued a number of large-scale fines to the owner and builder at the time, while also requiring the owner to monitor the ongoing health of this tree.”
Ms Coyle said the tree’s health had continued to decline since then and the owner’s arborist recently advised that the tree should be removed urgently as the amount of die-back had increased from 5 per cent to 30 per cent in the past two months.
“The owners are required to undertake replacement planting on site to ensure that over time the canopy will be returned,” she said.
Mr Hordern suggested Council make the actions of the owners more public “by putting up embarrassing signs at the front and rear of the property for six months stating that ‘the owner has built an illegal structure on the property that has resulted in a beautiful and old established tree having to be removed'”.
