RESIDENTS in Huskisson have been left in shock at the amount of pruning Endeavour Energy applied to avenues of street trees last week.
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“This is the absolute worst I’ve seen, said Huskisson resident Brian Symons.
“They normally trim a bit each year, but this year they’ve overdone it.
“The trees were still about 1.5 metres from the power lines, so I don’t think there was any need for this.
“These trees are now almost hideous,” he said.
Huskisson resident Garry Kelson was also annoyed at the amount taken off the trees.
He asked why there was no attempt at shaping and why so much needed to be removed when in previous years much less was pruned.
He understood the trees needed to be kept from touching the power lines but believed this had been a bit extreme, a rushed job with no care and no regard given to how the trees or the street would look.
He said the signage on the contractor’s truck was a Sydney company.
“I’m sure in other years it has been local companies doing this,” Mr Kelson said.
“This certainly doesn’t look like it had been done with an arborist’s eye.
“I would like to know why they don’t cut these trees in winter. They are deciduous I would have thought winter was the best time.”
Mr Kelson contacted Shoalhaven City Council, and was told to call Origin Energy, who told him it was Endeavour’s responsibility.
He lodged a complaint with Endeavour and is awaiting a reply.
“I would like someone from Endeavour to at least come and have a look at this,” he said.
An Endeavour Energy spokesman said the trees in Huskisson had been pruned to protect public safety and provide local customers with a reliable service.
“While Endeavour Energy would prefer to never prune any tree, when dealing with live electricity safety must always be our first priority,” the spokesman said.
He said the minimum safety clearances between trees and power lines in a residential street were typically between two and a half and four metres.
“Huskisson has many liquidambar street trees which are a large, fast growing species that can reach up to 25 metres tall,” he said.
“When planted directly under low voltage powerlines, these trees need to be managed at no greater than four and a half metres in height to keep our network safe and reliable.
“Many of the liquidambars in Huskisson are now at a height where structural branches from the centre of the tree needed to be removed to keep them a safe distance from powerlines.
“Pruning also occurred later this year - after the liquidambars had developed their spring foliage - making the result look more severe than in previous years.”
The spokesman said Endeavour Energy’s vegetation specialist, a fully qualified botanist, would monitor the trees in Huskisson over the next six months to make sure they regrew as expected.
“Local residents concerned about a particular tree can contact us on 133 718 and we will undertake an assessment and, if required, apply appropriate remedies to make sure the tree remains healthy.”
“We have written to Mr Kelson to acknowledge his complaint. Our vegetation specialist will contact him this week to address his concerns.”