Sixteen trees mistakenly felled on Kinloch Road last Wednesday have spurred an apology and the promise of an investigation.
HEB Construction, the company contracted by Taupō District Council for road maintenance services, have released a statement expressing deep disappointment at the mistake.
“HEB is carrying out a full investigation to understand how this has happened despite having all the required controls in place and are working with council and the community to work out the best way to restore the area,” said the release.
HEB had been asked to remove several self-sown trees on the road reserve which TDC staff had clearly marked as well as instructing the company that nearby community-planted trees were to be left alone.
The HEB sub-contracted arborist unfortunately felled some trees not marked out for removal, said Graeme Stokes, contract manager of the project.
The company would be replacing these with the largest size specimens they could find, he said, while acknowledging they would take time to fill the gaps.
“We sincerely apologise to the community for the distress caused and to the people who originally planted the trees.”
An audit by both HEB and council staff of the number of trees felled confirmed the final number as 16 not five as earlier reported.
Lake FM requested an interview with Council chief executive Julie Gardyne, however was told she was unavailable to speak with media. Gardyne apologised in the joint statement released by HEB and TDC, acknowledging that the council should have informed the community of the planned work prior to it happening.
District Councillor Christine Rankin told Lake FM that the trees had special significance to the community. "They were planted 40 years ago by Sir Keith Holyoake because he was one of the founders of Kinloch," Rankin said. She explained that 20 years later, another group of residents planted more trees alongside the original ones.
Rankin noted that the council had followed the correct process regarding the need to clear trees encroaching on the roadway, but the breakdown occurred in communication. "We make sure through the representative group that the Kinloch community knows everything that's going on. And this was what was missed... I didn't know, the Kinloch Representative group didn't know, so we couldn't inform people the way we normally would," she explained.
"What I wanted from the very beginning was that we told the truth, that we fronted up and we fixed it," Rankin added. "And I have to say, council has done that."
The council has said that while the accidentally felled trees were significant to the local community, none were designated as protected amenity trees under the Taupō District Plan.
The planted trees, including the specimens felled, however are filling gaps between large Lombardy Poplars that are listed as protected.
Rankin distinguished this incident from a similar situation in Tūrangi last year, where a council contractor damaged a protected tree. "The situation with Kinloch is quite different. [Tūrangi] was a protected tree. There was a lot of confusion around the instruction, but it was mistakenly cut down too," she said. Rankin noted that an independent report on the Turangi incident has been completed and is currently available to councillors, with plans to make it public.
