Following feedback from the community, 30 mature New Zealand Christmas trees lining Kepler Street will be retained.
Council had considered removing the trees, which are located within the footpath and have caused some damage to the path surface, then replacing them with trees planted in special pits that would reduce the risk of damage to other infrastructure.
Before proceeding, Council asked residents whether they were comfortable with the removal and replacement of the trees or whether they preferred to see them retained.
“A clear majority of residents wanted the trees retained,” Cr Blain said.
“And feedback from Kepler Street business owners revealed most either liked the trees or felt neutral about them.
“The overall feedback has informed our decision. Council still plans to proceed with the upgrade of the footpath to improve accessibility in our CBD, but we’ll now work around the trees.
“It was great to have advice from the community and businesses about a preferred way forward and there was very strong sentiment around keeping the trees.
“The trees feature in photographs from many decades ago so they’ve long been a part of the fabric of our city.
“They provide year-round shade and stunning flowers over the Christmas period.”
