Council acts on safety concerns

A near-miss involving a fallen pine tree has triggered an independent report into the health of the pine tree embankment at Williamstown’s Queen Victoria Jubilee Park.

Council began investigations following a report of a tree falling onto a caravan and car at the Williamstown Caravan Park earlier this month, causing extensive property damage.

An independent report into the condition of the bank of pine trees on the northern boundary has identified an unacceptable level of risk to the safety of people and property at the eastern end.

Barossa CEO Martin McCarthy was thankful no-one was injured in the incident, and said Council had been forced to make a difficult but necessary decision.

“While we regret the loss of any trees, there is no question we need to put people’s safety first,” he said.

“Based on the report findings, we will be removing the eastern stand of pines referred to in the report as having an unacceptable level of risk, which is approximately 40 trees.”

Mr McCarthy said it was important to remove the trees en-masse, rather than sporadically.

“Previous tree removal, plus the fallen tree earlier this month, has altered the tree canopy structure and the stability of the surrounding trees, significantly increasing the potential for further tree failures,” he said.

“We understand this scale of tree removal will change the landscape and amenity of the Park precinct, which is well loved by the community, however It’s important to remember these pines are not native. They were commonly planted around schools and recreation parks, both to provide buffers and as a potential source of income for harvesting, and many have reached the end of their useful life.”

Mr McCarthy said a management plan was being developed to safeguard the site where possible against further tree failure, and did not rule out further tree removal, based on identified risk.

He thanked staff for their quick response to prevent further damage or injury.

“I’m grateful that our staff in conjunction with Belgravia, the Park managers, have moved quickly on this matter,” he said. “Our first priority has been to evacuate the current visitors at the park in order to get tree removal underway as quickly as possible.”

Tree removal is expected to occur next week.