Difficulties trying to sell the last section in a Tauranga subdivision has sparked a bid to fell a protected notable tree.
Philippa Howcroft has applied to Tauranga City Council to remove the 32m high London plane tree sited at the boundary with 53 Wakefield Drive in Bethlehem.
The unsold section at 7 Edwin Grove, listed as being owned by Howcroft Developments Ltd, adjoins the tree.
A report to tomorrow's council hearing to consider felling the tree has recommended refusing the application. Environmental planner Kahurangi Tapsell acknowledged that the tree would shade a future development, create maintenance problems from leaf and debris fall, and reduce the flexibility of the building's design.
However he said that no other options were put forward by the applicant, whether by pruning or designing the house within the drip line of the tree.