Axe falls on oak over safety fears

The pin oak tree (on the left) is to be removed on Sunday due to safety concerns but the tree directly outside the Pig and Whistle will remain. Photo / Stephen Parker

An iconic tree in the centre of Rotorua is to get cut down on Sunday after being deemed a safety hazard.

The Rotorua District Council is to remove a large pin oak tree on Tutanekai St between the Rotorua Courthouse and the Pig and Whistle which has become a safety risk after developing a major split in its trunk.

The tree is one of three on the eastern side of Tutanekai St.

Council parks and recreation manager Garry Page said the council was always reluctant to remove any tree but had to take action when it became a matter of public safety. "We've sought independent arborist advice to see if the tree could be saved but it appears that any attempt to do so would create more maintenance issues and the health of the tree would continue to decline.

"Any attempt at cable bracing the split stems would only delay the inevitable and some risk would remain in the meantime. So we've accepted the experts' recommendation to remove the tree altogether in the interests of public safety.

"Fortunately there are existing large trees on either side of the pin oak being removed, one of which is an iconic plane tree outside the Pig and Whistle. Neither of these will be affected, so the loss of treescape will be somewhat minimised. We'll be replacing the damaged pin oak with another tree which in time will grow to fill the void."

Mr Page said there were also plans to introduce more trees along the same stretch of Tutanekai St in the future.

Pig and Whistle general manager Bevan Brake said it would be a shame to see the tree go.

"It's a centrepiece of the street. Hopefully the council can put something in there that replaces it."

"We accepted it is unsafe and needs to go. It has pretty big cracks and holes in the base."

The damaged tree is scheduled for removal on Sunday, subject to weather conditions at the time.