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Posers Illegally Prune City’s Trees
The City of Melville believes unauthorised people posing as City contractors have recently taken payment from residents to illegally prune and cut down trees on council property.
Misled residents are believed to have had the City’s trees pruned or cut down to enhance their views or avoid tree litter. The trees that are still standing have been left in an appalling condition after a poor attempt to prune them, which also left residents up to $1,000 out of pocket.
Notification of recent incidents of trees being removed from roadside verges in Melville and Mt Pleasant found that residents had been told by the “gardeners” that they were City of Melville contractors, or that they had permission to prune trees on behalf of the City.
Parks and Environment Manager Ian Davis urged residents to be aware that this was not a service provided by the City. “The City does not prune trees to enhance views or to avoid tree litter,” he said. “We only remove trees if they are dying, dead, diseased or deemed unsafe. We also do not authorise outside parties to prune or remove trees on the City’s behalf. If residents require a tree to be pruned for any other reason, they need to contact the City directly.”
Mayor Russell Aubrey said he was angry that someone had apparently deceived residents and unlawfully removed some of the City’s trees. “We try to maintain streets that are pleasing to look at for the whole community and do not remove trees to open up views for individuals,” he said. “I urge residents to be aware of these posers and to be warned that pruning or removing the City’s trees is an illegal activity. We will prosecute for criminal damage anyone found to have been interfering with the City’s trees.”
Some of the trees have been poorly trimmed and now need to be tidied up by the City with further pruning, or in some cases need to be removed completely. Those who accept tree trimmings or removals on City property, such as roadside verges, will be charged for the cost of re-pruning or replacing the trees and can also be fined up to $1,000 per tree under local government legislation.
Residents who have encountered people posing as City of Melville contractors are encouraged to contact the City’s Community Safety and Security (CSS) Service on 1300 653 643 or the police non-emergency number 131 444.