Celia Haddock – Michmutters

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Maribyrnong City Council to remove 12 trees from Bunbury Street, angering residents

A sign of front gate saying 'council kills trees' in red with a dog peaking around the side.

A dozen heritage-listed trees in Footscray have been marked for removal by Maribyrnong City Council (MCC) after reports they posed a risk to public safety.

Some 54 English elm and desert ash line Bunbury Street in the Melbourne suburb, with the eldest trees planted about 120 years ago.

But residents believed MCC was unnecessarily removing some trees and were only informed about the plans days before work was expected to start.

Local Footscray Ronch Willner said the move had sparked anger.

“Last week they sent notifications to a few residents about the removal works that have started today,” he said.

“Because of the poor community consultation, the community has started to read the reports and have started to [realise] … they’ve been selectively removing the trees over the years without notifying the residents.”

A street with cars parked on either side and large leafy green trees in the nature strip.
Residents say they want to see the heritage-listed trees remain.(Supplied: Martin Stockfeld)

Mr Willner said the community, which wanted its green spaces preserved, understood the safety risks the trees could pose.

But he said the community felt MCC was unnecessarily removing some of the trees.

Mr Willner said a juvenile tree (number 51) that was flagged in the arborist reports as “needing watering” was removed by the council without notice.

A report from the MCC flagged the decline in the trees’ health was in part due to infrastructure and management of the canopies, and stated three trees had already been removed.

Many trees, according to the report, would also need to be removed in the future as they continued to grow, with their roots possibly becoming damaged by the kerbside.

A screenshot of a report showing to photos of trees growing into the gutter of a street.
Some trees may be removed because they are growing too close to the kerb.(Supplied: Maribyrnong City Council)

Trees ‘could not be saved’

MCC chief executive officer Celia Haddock said the trees were putting the street’s residents and visitors at risk and “could not be saved.”

“Two mature elms collapsed during a severe wind event last year,” she said.

“Their failure prompted MCC to proactively assess and remove only those identified as being in poor structural condition to mitigate any future risk to the public.”

Plans to replace the trees have not been confirmed, but Ms Haddock said the council would be “working with local residents on a tree-planting renewal plan”.

Community members have since started an online petition in the hope MCC will rethink the trees’ removal.

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