Auckland Council begins tree protection assessments as judicial review looms

Saturday, 30 April 2022

Auckland Council and local conservationist group the Tree Council are in pre-hearing discussions over how much work the Council should do to monitor and protect important trees.

In November 2021, the Tree Council filed a judicial review against Auckland Council, accusing it of failing its legal obligations to maintain its list of protected notable trees – in particular, 587 trees nominated for protection within the past decade.

As part of the judicial review process, the two parties are now in pre-hearing discussions.

Meanwhile, the council has begun the work of assessing 610 trees which have been nominated for protection (Notable Tree status) but whose nominations hadn’t been processed in years and were central to the Tree Council’s arguments.

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**

In a statement, Auckland Council said the means were finally available for the work, two years after committing to it “when resources permit” back in 2020.

But Tree Council secretary Dr Mels​ Barton said the council’s action was more likely down to the threat of legal proceedings.

“Auckland Council came back saying they had, remarkably, begun to assess the nominations … they had been putting off for nine years and done absolutely nothing,” she said.

“So obviously, we felt our judicial review action had trigged them into doing something, finally.”

Barton hoped the discussions would result in real commitment to ongoing work on the Notable Tree Schedule and the protection of important trees across Auckland.

Otherwise, they may wish to go ahead with their court date scheduled for August, she said.

Trees on the Notable Tree Schedule (also known as schedule 10) cannot be cut down or removed without Auckland Council approved resource consent, even if they are on private property.

In a statement published in February, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said the work on the 610 trees was important, but more so was reinstating general tree protections across Auckland, which were removed in 2013.

“The removal of these protections means councils must rely on listing individual trees at significant cost, and this has resulted in a lack of protection for large numbers of trees of notable size and character across Auckland,” he said.

“Although we are able to schedule specifically identified notable trees, doing so tree by tree is costly and time-consuming, and will only protect a small minority of Auckland’s important trees.”

But work had begun, and Auckland Council expected to be finished by mid-2023.

“Council officers have been working through the assessments of the nominated trees since last year,” Auckland Council Chief of Strategy Megan Tyler said in a statement.

“The desktop-based research has been completed, and council arborists are now working through the site inspections.

“We believe we are on track to report back to elected members by mid next year; at which time the council will decide whether there is any action to be taken.”

Tyler said the discussions outside of court did not mean the council was trying to avoid court action.

“While it is always preferable to reach an agreement out of court … we are confident in our position on this matter and are willing to speak to it in court if necessary.”

Barton said it was unlikely that all the trees on the list were still around, as unprotected trees were being cut down, some in the middle of the night.

“The majority of those trees will not be there, nine years later. In fact, it’s not 610 trees at all, it’s probably going to be fewer than 50 that are actually still there and qualify,” she said.

“It’s nowhere near as big a job as the council says it is.”