Media response - Tree planting along Emmerson Drive, Morphett Vale

Published on 04 September 2019

Response to Southern Times Messenger.

Comments attributed to Kirk Richardson, Director City Operations.

1. How many trees were planted on Emmerson Drive?
   98 trees planted in total.
   
   
2. Were they planted on council property?
   Yes, all trees were planted on council property.  
   
   
3. How many complaints has the council received from residents about the trees?
   Two.
   
   
4. How many trees have been removed due to residents’ complaints and when were they removed?
   Four. They were removed on Thursday 29 August.
   
   
5. Will they now be planted elsewhere? If yes, where?
   Yes, they were replanted in a nearby reserve on the same day they were removed.
   
   
6. How much did it cost to plant the trees and how much did it cost to remove them?
   It costs $120 to plant a street tree which includes the stock, labour (site preparation and planting), service checks and the sundry materials such as stakes, fertiliser, watering, soil, etc. The removal cost is labour and backfill which is $10 per tree.
   
   
7. Does the council need to look at other ways of notifying residents?
   We provide information regarding proposed tree planting to all relevant residents via a letter in their letterbox and we do this at least four weeks before we plant. Within the information, we explain that anyone who doesn’t want a tree planted in the verge outside their home can contact council. For Emmerson Drive we received seven ‘no tree requests’ and we complied with all of these requests.