FOLLOWING a notice of motion moved on 22 March 2022, Port Stephens Council has provided information regarding the tree moratorium.

Councillor Arnott moved the motion to better inform the community, requesting information regarding how many trees have been removed and reported after Council’s changes to tree removal practices, amending the policy to allow for dangerous trees to be removed without the need for approval from Council.

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Brock Lamont, Port Stephens Council Strategy and Environment Section Manager, provided information regarding the amendment.

“The most recent Council data shows that between July 2021 and March 2022 (from which date all applications were recorded electronically), Council has received a total of 182 tree removal notifications.

“Council staff assessed all tree removal notifications against the DCP 2014 provisions and found that 59 tree removal notifications complied with the notification requirements, resulting in the removal of 75 trees,” Mr Lamont said.

The remaining 123 non-compliant tree removal notifications were transferred to the tree permit process and included the removal of 146 trees and the planting of 181 replacement trees.

Mr Lamont stated that 38 trees were refused for removal with reasons including high ecological value or no risk to life or property.

Other trees were rejected due to their dead or dying status, however they were still considered to be required for habitat due to the presence of nests or hollows.

“During this time, Council did not receive any notifications of removal on account of immediate failure, while eleven trees are known to have been removed with no notification or permit.

“These eleven incidents have been placed on Council’s breaches register and compliance actions were undertaken by staff,” Mr Lamont said.

By Tara CAMPBELL