Whangārei District Council seeks resource consent to chop down three dozen magnolias in Kamo

Brentwood Avenue residents want the safety of their footpath returned. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Brentwood Ave's 18-month magnolia battle has won a major coup with Whangārei District Council approving the trees' removal.

The WDC permission for residents to remove the trees in the suburb of Kamo is however, subject to them getting council resource consent.

Brentwood Ave's Sheryl Cromie said it was good to see the council move to address major health and safety concerns caused by the trees.

These included two broken arms and a number of trips and falls on the street's footpaths, which had been increasingly damaged by tree root invasion.

The leafy magnolia boulevard causing issues in Brentwood Avenue, a quiet Kamo Whangārei cul-de-sac. Photo / Michael Cunningham

The council's infrastructure committee has approved the removal of almost three dozen magnolias. The council will also fix the street's footpath after the trees are gone.

The council is putting together a resource consent application for the trees' removal.

WDC parks and recreation manager Sue Hodge said consent preparation was expected to take about two weeks and then a month to be processed.

It will be considered independently by the council's resource consent team.

Brentwood Ave residents will be notified during the application process, allowing them to make submissions.

The residents' battle to get rid of the 250-metre row of up to 7m-high magnolias comes amidst growing health and safety concerns for those using the quiet cul-de-sac's footpaths.

These include elderly walkers from the large adjacent Jane Mander Retirement Village, some of whom have taken to walking on the road rather than the uneven-surfaced footpath.

Cromie said the only realistic outcome of the council resource consent application, given the health and safety hazards, was for the trees to be removed.

She said issues with the trees had been ongoing for about five years and would worsen if the trees were not removed.

Cromie said roots from the magnolias of the type planted on the street were known to spread and cover an area about four times that of the tree's height.

The roots were also starting to invade properties. One home had already suffered water damage after roots blocked stormwater drains.

Footpath damage from Brentwood Ave magnolias. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Residents told the council they would pay $8000 to get the trees cut down, but not for the $10,000 resource consent for the work to be done.

Lynda Goulden worries about the roots of roadside magnolias affecting her property. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Brentwood Ave resident Lynda Goulden constantly worries about roots from the trees on the berm outside her house growing into her garage.

She said residents were keen on replacing the avenue of trees with a more suitable variety.

She is one of three residents designated to look into alternative council-agreed planting options.

The three choices at the moment, depending on resource consent approval, were makomako (wineberry), makamaka and titoki.

Cutting down whole avenues of trees is unusual. WDC has only done similar work twice previously in Morningside and Ōtangarei.