Monday, February 10, 2025

Prosecution for illegal Burnside street tree felling

In a first for South Australia’s City of Burnside Council, an individual has been prosecuted for the illegal removal of a roadside tree.

In a statement, Council said a mature seven-year-old Golden Rain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata) had been cut down on Fort Avenue, Kensington Gardens in April 2021.

“The removal of this street tree was witnessed by a resident who, after discovering the removal had not been approved by Council, took photographs and notified the City of Burnside of the incident,” the Council said.

“With sufficient evidence to prosecute, the matter was taken to Adelaide Magistrates Court with the defendant recently found guilty of the offence.”

Two years later, the defendant has been issued with a $500 fine, with an additional order to pay Council’s court costs of $5,708 and a $262 payment of a Victims of Crime levy.

City of Burnside CEO, Chris Cowley, said he was happy with the outcome that was successful largely due to a supportive resident and Council’s passionate Urban Forest Team.

“It’s been a long and protracted case taking a year to investigate and a further year in the courts,” Mr Cowley said.

“It would never have been successful without the quick thinking of the resident who witnessed the incident and reported it to Council.

“I cannot thank this resident enough for the care they have shown in protecting the City’s urban forest. Without the evidence, and the unwavering passion of Council’s Urban Forest Team to see the case through, we would not have been successful.

“I hope that this example highlights the seriousness of the issue and the commitment from Council to take strong action to safeguard the urban forest,” he said.

Senior Urban Forestry Officer, Chris Hawkins said it was a rare win in the battle to preserve the urban forest for future generations.

“I’ve worked as an arborist for 10 years and this is the first successful street tree prosecution that I know of,” Mr Hawkins said.

“Putting this into perspective, Council received 50 recorded incidents of people cutting down or poisoning street trees in the last year. A large proportion of these are linked to new developments.

“Each year we plant almost 1000 new street and reserve trees, but we’re losing so many as well. Without solid evidence it is notoriously difficult to prosecute this illegal activity.”

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