We got it! Libs get tree reforms passed.
This is just a short note to let you all know that at last night’s Council meeting, we passed a raft of changes to Council’s tree management order by 10 votes to 1.
These changes will give local families more of those rights and freedoms they need to manage and maintain greenery on their own property.
Until this point, Holroyd’s TMO was one of the most rigid and extreme in NSW – the TMO was even more burdensome and onerous than so-called “green” councils like Ku-Ring-Gai, Blue Mountains and Leichhardt.
Under the changes, local residents will now be able take the following steps without having to seek Council approval:
- Adjust or remove trees within 2 metres of a family home or garage to help provide peace of mind for families who are concerned about dangerous trees
- Improve the spread of sunlight and lines of visibility by removing non-essential tree-branches up to a height of 2.4 metres
- Deal with an extra 14 undesirable species which have been added to the “exempt” list (such species include the controversial Camphor Laurel menace, the poplar species, and the firethorn)
- Remove or prune any liquidambar within 5 metres of the family home – the liquidambar’s root structure is notorious for breaking underground pipes and undermining nearby house foundations
We got these measures through by working with our colleagues on Council rather than against them. After so much bitter and partisan behaviour of recent months I welcome this change and hope it continues.
But let’s not forget how hard we fought as Liberals to get this issue on the agenda. We went through three council reports, three rescission motions, more than six hours of debate, six notices of motion and a private councillor’s breifing on the matter to make this happen.
Changes aren’t easy to bring about, but it’s well worth the effort when you know that something you did will give local families more freedom and peace of mind for many years to come.
As part of Council’s resolution, these changes will not come into effect until the entire Tree Management Order is rewritten in easy-to-understand terminology so that everyone knows what their rights are. The rewritten TMO will then be considered as part of the incoming Development Control Plan which Council is set to discuss in December.
–ENDS–
Media contact: Ross Grove on 0412897130
