31 March 2017

Ask RiotACT: How to get a dead tree removed from nature strip?

| Joseph Tandl
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Ask RiotACT

Two years ago a big gum tree in front of our house, on ACT land, died. We notified the relevant ACT Connect office via the website but only when we wrote again later, about dead branches falling on cars parked underneath it, did they send a crew to cut the all the branches off. The removal of the 10m, massive remaining tree trunk was promised, but never happened, in spite of many messages to ACT Connect.

Can someone suggest a process that will persuade the Department to remove the trunk? It’s such an eyesore and with big chunks of bark falling on cars and the road, it is also a public nuisance.

We would be grateful for suggestions?

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Hi,
The governments budget is very scarce in this area.
I don’t think you’ll have much luck with them any time soon.
You may have more luck getting permission to remove the trunk yourself. The ACT Gov doesn’t have an issue generally with type of approach. Of ourse it will cost you some money if you get someone to do it but it will get the final result you want.
All the best.

Joseph Tandl6:39 pm 09 Apr 17

dungfungus said :

Joseph Tandl said :

It worked, some tree doctor came today and cut down the trunk but left a rather big stump. We will see how long it will take to have that removed!

Thanks for the many good ideas to further our cause! However, we have no skilled wood-sculptor in our family – you should feel free to come and create a memorable work of art with the stump if so inclined.

Stumps are no longer removed – they are macerated down to just below the ground level (so you wont stub your toe) with a machine called a stump grinder.

And that’s exactly what happened this week. We still think it’s a miracle, after all this time, it actually happened! Thanks to RiotACT, and I suppose our lovely local government.

Joseph Tandl said :

It worked, some tree doctor came today and cut down the trunk but left a rather big stump. We will see how long it will take to have that removed!

Thanks for the many good ideas to further our cause! However, we have no skilled wood-sculptor in our family – you should feel free to come and create a memorable work of art with the stump if so inclined.

Stumps are no longer removed – they are macerated down to just below the ground level (so you wont stub your toe) with a machine called a stump grinder.

Joseph Tandl9:56 pm 05 Apr 17

It worked, some tree doctor came today and cut down the trunk but left a rather big stump. We will see how long it will take to have that removed!

Thanks for the many good ideas to further our cause! However, we have no skilled wood-sculptor in our family – you should feel free to come and create a memorable work of art with the stump if so inclined.

steveu said :

get the canberra times to come and do a story on it, and get them to ask the minister responsible for comment.
I always thought gum trees that ACT govt planted on the verse are ACT govt responsibility?
Shame you cant make the tree into some sort of decorative totem pole feature and call it public art.

Now there is an idea! You could probably even get a couple of mil government grant to do it too!

After many years battling a NSW regional council over similar issues we were able to get the local RFS to declare the tree a bushfire risk. When the council contractor cut the tree down the entire centre was hollow, but the tree had been declared safe by the arborists.

Holden Caulfield12:32 pm 04 Apr 17

Lobby to have a tram stop outside your place. Your tree and all nearby trees will be removed before you know it.

crackerpants11:29 am 04 Apr 17

steveu said :

get the canberra times to come and do a story on it, and get them to ask the minister responsible for comment.
I always thought gum trees that ACT govt planted on the verse are ACT govt responsibility?
Shame you cant make the tree into some sort of decorative totem pole feature and call it public art.

And sell it back to the govt for $150,000 😉

Get someone to make it into a sculpture.

get the canberra times to come and do a story on it, and get them to ask the minister responsible for comment.
I always thought gum trees that ACT govt planted on the verse are ACT govt responsibility?
Shame you cant make the tree into some sort of decorative totem pole feature and call it public art.

In my experience it’s reasonably straightforward to put in a form to the ACT Gov and have the tree cut down at your own expense. It does seem inconsistent though. I applied several times for permission to cut down gums on my nature strip – and was knocked back before eventually being allowed. And it was well over $3000 to have 5 large gums removed.

Seems they will only cut it down for you if it’s posing an immediate danger, i.e. it’s actually falling down – or needs to be removed because it has broken through water pipes.

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