New Plymouth resident claims moral victory over fate of overgrown pohutukawa

The daughter of a New Plymouth councillor is claiming a victory of sorts, after facing a hefty fine and a years-long battle with the council over who was responsible for a massive pōhutukawa outside her home.

Lines company Powerco has sent in contractors to remove the 15 metre-tall pōhutukawa at no cost, after it had grown through powerlines on Ballance St.

Alana Brough, who is the daughter of first-term councillor Max Brough, was overjoyed and baked for the contractors, who were bringing down the tree in the rain.

"The tree's coming down, whoohoo," she said.

"I had a phone call from Powerco to say it was in the lines, and then [the contractor] Asplundh said they could come and cut it out at no charge."

Brough got into a stoush with council, after asking it to trim the branches of the pōhutukawa, which had grown in the leafy suburb of Vogeltown for decades,

Council said no, because the tree straddled Brough's property and the footpath, and it had not planted it, while she argued it was in the berm and the NPDC's responsibility.

After discovering the pōhutukawa would cost $10,000 to trim, Brough planted dwarf fruit trees and a vegetable garden in her berm against council rules in an act of defiance, but was threatened with a $1000 fine, plus $50 for each day the garden remained, so she pulled it out.

She remained defiant as the tree came down.

"It's a council tree on council land, it's up to the council to take care of it," Brough said. "Then Powerco have come in and said it is hazardous, because it's up above the power lines."

Brough would still have to pay a $1300 bill to mulch the remnants of the tree, but was still happy with the outcome.

"I think it's amazing what Powerco are doing, although it makes sense, because it's under their powerlines and, if there's a storm and it comes down, it is a hazard. The contractors have been amazing, working in the pouring rain to remove this tree."

Not everybody was thrilled, with one neighbour expressing their frustration on social media.

"Absolutely gutted this is happening," they said. "The beautiful pōhutukawa tree that we have seen out our lounge window for 25 years is being removed today."

New Plymouth District Council parks and open spaces manager Conrad Pattison said work on trees was prioritised according to the safety risk they posed, either to the public or infrastructure.

"We've found no immediate safety issues regarding this pōhutukawa, but we'd relook at it if that changed," he said.

"This tree straddles the boundary between the public pathway and the private property, but we didn't plant it. If the property owner wants it removed, she can do that, but at her cost."

In a statement, Powerco said it monitored trees growing close to powerlines, but it was the property owner's responsibility to keep their trees a safe distance from overhead lines.

"Tree owners are sent a 'cut or trim notice', if their tree is encroaching on power lines, which is a safety risk. Powerco will cover the reasonable cost of the first cut, if the tree has not previously been cut by a Powerco contractor.

"The tree on Ballance Street is being removed today to eliminate the risk to Powerco's network."

Powerco said property owners were legally required to keep trees a minimum safe distance away from overhead power lines under the Electricity (Hazards from Trees) Regulations 2003.

rnz.co.nz