Tree removal begins at Blighs Garden next week

Work will begin next week to remove 60 earthquake-damaged trees from the northern end of Blighs Garden in South New Brighton.

The work to remove the mature pine and macrocarpa trees will begin on Wednesday 6 June and it is scheduled to be completed by Friday 15 June 2012.  The northern end of Blighs Garden will be closed until the work is completed.

Christchurch City Council Transport and Greenspace Manager Alan Beuzenberg says that the earthquake-damaged trees have deteriorated over the summer and the Council is left with no option but to remove the dead and dying trees in Blighs Garden as they are unsafe.

“The felling of trees is likely to cause ground vibrations which could be of concern for some residents.  Our contractors are mindful of this and will be taking care to minimise the affects of noise, dust and ground movement while this work is underway.  In addition, heavy vehicles will be in the area to remove the trees and they may cause some traffic disruption,” he says.

Local residents will be provided with an information leaflet today, but if they need any further information please contact the Council Customer Call Centre, phone 941-8999 or 0800 800 169 .

Background information:

The mature pine and macrocarpa trees, which will be removed, vary in age.

There are number of causes of earthquake damage to trees:

As a result of the ground movement during earthquake events the trees have sustained root damage which causes the trees to become unstable and fall over.

As a result in the drop in land levels, there are now higher water levels in this area. This results in trees becoming water logged and they can drown.

The water logging also results in a lack of friction between the root plate and the surrounding soil. This results in trees toppling over.

Higher water levels in the area have also caused salt water contamination of tree roots.

The Blighs Garden replanting plan is not yet finalised, so specific species to be planted are yet to be confirmed.  Council has contracted Treetech Limited to remove the trees. As the trees will be completely removed from Blighs Garden, there will be no wood available for residents.  As part of the contract negotiations with Treetech Limited, they will own the wood from the felled trees. By doing this, Council staff have reduced the cost of the tree removal project by selling the wood to Treetech Limited.