The Tree Council is waiting to see the outcome of the thousands of submissions calling for the reinstatement of urban tree protection on the Natural and Built Environment Bill, which is due to come back to Parliament this month for its second reading.

One of our members recently wrote to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins to explain why protecting urban trees is so important for the future of our cities and we thought they had expressed the issue so clearly that it deserved a wider audience:

“Dear Chris,

I am writing to you as one of your constituents in the Remutaka Electorate about an issue I am facing in my neighbourhood, but this issue - the loss of irreplaceable mature trees from urban areas - is occurring at an alarming rate nationwide.

It is a problem that needs to be urgently addressed and your government has the opportunity to do this through the Natural and Built Environment Bill currently before Parliament. I’m hopeful that this local example will illustrate the urgent need to protect our dwindling urban forests before it’s too late.

For over two decades I have enjoyed the presence of a group of three mature trees growing on neighbouring sections just metres from my property. They are the most prominent trees for many blocks, obvious from surrounding streets and on Google Earth, and their stature makes them a magnet for native birds, including Tui, Kereru, Piwakawaka, Ruru and Karearea. We’ve estimated their age at well over 100 years. With my address falling within the zone recently designated as suitable for intensive development, a developer has purchased the two sections adjoining the back of mine, including the one containing the two closest trees. Their plans involve removing the existing two houses and the trees, to build 13 townhouses. This will result in the loss of nearly all the green space on these sections and the construction of two-storey buildings to within a few metres of my boundary. Due to the zoning of my area to allow housing intensification (and with a proposed Intensification Planning Instrument currently before Council that will allow buildings of up to three stories to be built close to boundaries with no consultation required with affected neighbours) the Council has approved it as a non-notified development. This means I have no opportunity to have a say on the development, despite its profound effect on my property and the nature of the neighbourhood in general. In their initial proposal, the developer stated (amongst other dubious assertions) that the properties contained no significant indigenous vegetation.

I have been in contact with the City Council on many occasions regarding these trees, but they have only reiterated that the current legal situation is that native trees on private land have no general protection and under the District Plan the only trees afforded protection are those already listed on the Notable Trees register. Despite these trees being equal in age and stature to many of the trees on the register the Council has declined requests to come and look at/assess the trees, advised that I cannot get a assessment done privately by a qualified arborist, and stated that no new additions to the register will be considered until 2024/5 at the earliest.

In the current rush to intensify, I and many other kiwis believe that far too much freedom has been given to developers, with no effort to mitigate the foreseeable and profound negative consequences that will affect generations to come. Many of these developers seem content to totally ignore the legitimate concerns of local communities and appear to be driven primarily by the desire to maximise profits. In my case the developers will not even do me the courtesy of replying to my emails and letters requesting a meeting to discuss possible ways that the trees might be saved. After getting no response, I asked a lawyer to contact them on my behalf, but with the same result.

There is a wealth of scientific evidence stressing the value of mature trees in urban areas - for moderating wind, noise, temperature and stormwater runoff, carbon sequestration, improving air quality, providing habitat for native wildlife, and for their positive effect on residents physical and mental health. Enlightened cities around the world are actively encouraging an increase in tree cover in urban areas, but in New Zealand many cities have been rapidly losing their urban forests, prompting campaigns such as the Auckland based Stop the Chop. I would direct you to The Tree Council’s submission to the Natural and Built Environments Bill for data illustrating the scale of the loss that has been occurring since any general protections for native trees on private land were removed in 2012 by the National government of the time.

While I can understand your government's current focus on pressing issues like the cost of living and cyclone relief, long term environmental issues like the loss of our urban forests also need immediate action. Once these mature urban trees are felled and their footprint occupied by buildings and infrastructure, they are gone forever. While there is nothing wrong with planting new trees, it is harder but way more important to put in place urgent measures to protect our existing mature trees for the benefit of current and future generations.

To this end, I believe the Natural and Built Environment Bill should reinstate some protection for significant trees on private land, at least requiring their presence to be taken into account when considering development consents. It is also crucial that if such provisions are passed, that they come into effect immediately, or that some sort of interim moratorium is imposed, to prevent the predictable rush by some landowners to fell existing trees before any protections come into effect. As stressed in The Tree Council's submission, Section 125 also needs to be removed, as this prevents councils responding to the concerns of their communities and making rules about the protection of trees on private land.

As you can no doubt tell, saving these trees is of great personal importance to me, but it is also an issue concerning a great many other New Zealanders and I hope you will be able to assist in some way.”

The Tree Council hopes that the Prime Minister has not only read this letter and understood its significance, but taken steps to ensure that the Natural and Built Environment Bill will include the protection of urban trees as one of the cornerstones of the environment that its purpose is to protect and enhance.

Aotearoa New Zealand urgently needs to legislate urban tree protection before the upcoming general election.

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