Community
26 August, 2024
Fig tree’s costly nightmare
TWO neighbours, who have suffered damage from fig tree roots at Freshwater, have spoken out after another resident called on Cairns Regional Council to save the tree.
Last week Dr Paul Matthews pleaded with the council to keep the tree, estimated to be 80-years-old, in Le Grande Park by carefully pruning and managing the fig.
But the council has declared that the tree was beyond saving and will be axed later this month.
Elizabeth Taylor said she had complained many times over the past eight years to the council about the invasive roots of the tree, which CRC had tried to manage, to no avail.
“I am not a lone voice here. My neighbour, Barb Daniels, who also shares a common rear boundary with Le Grande Park, has also made numerous complaints to (the) council over the years,” she said.
Ms Taylor said over the past eight years the tree’s roots had resulted in more than $23,000 spent on repairs or irreplacable damage, involving sewage pipes, a new slab to replace uprooted pavers and gates. Roots had ruined a reticulated pest control system, artificial turf and gardens.
“Gardening is a pursuit that we should be able to enjoy without constant intrusion of large and small tree roots,” Ms Taylor said.
“The council did not need ‘an excuse’ to decide to remove the tree,” she said.
“An assessment of the health of the tree by CRC’s head arborist after three very large limbs fell after Cyclone Jasper and a review of all the facts would, in my view, lead anyone who considered all the facts that the tree has to go.”
Ms Taylor said the council had spent tens of thousands of dollars of ratepayer money to put down three root barriers in the park along the rear boundary of her and her neighbour’s house.
“The final root barrier installed in 2023 went down 1m in depth and extended for 80m and still failed to stop the tree roots invading our properties,” she said.
“Sonar equipment, which the council contracted to identify if root intrusion was still occurring under the 1m root barrier (following our continued complaints), showed the tree roots extended to 1.5m below the surface, along the root barrier, in order to continue to invade our properties.
“The cost to ratepayers of trying to control this tree and to continually remove branches and large limbs that fall in a public park, to protect public safety, is not money well spent.”
