A group of Victoria Point residents are pleading with Redland City Council to remove large trees from a nearby park over fears they could cause damage to surrounding homes.
John McCorley and Paul Thomas, whose properties adjoin Seaholly Crescent Park, are among those calling on council to address resident concerns.
The pair renewed their pleas for action at a recent council meeting, saying they feared trees in the park would fall and hit their houses.
Mr McCorley said council arborists had so far refused to address problems caused by the large trees.
“The tree with the most concern is a brushbox, which is approximately 18 metres high, with a diameter of 0.4 metres at waist height which splits into three main trunks,” he said.
“[The] base of the tree is located six metres from my house, with a lean of approximately 12 degrees towards my home.”
Mr McCorley feared one of the three tree trunks could fall and cause serious damage to his home.
A Redland City Council spokeswoman said trees would not be removed from council land unless they were damaged, diseased, or defective, or posed an assessed risk to public safety or property.
“A number of trees in the park connecting Seaholly Crescent and Point O’Halloran Road have been assessed multiple times by qualified council arborists and have been found to be healthy,” she said.
“The height of a tree has little correlation to its potential risk, which is determined by damage, disease or defect.”
Mr Thomas has lived at Victoria Point since 1999 and said the original landscaping plan adopted for the area was not being followed.
“It was to provide a two-metre buffer zone to the bordering residents with gardens containing low spikey shrubs and bushes approximately two to three metres high and shade trees along both sides of the walkway approximately five to six metres high,” he said.
“The landscape plan for the park was not followed and large trees were planted in the garden beds a metre from the bordering fences.”
A council spokeswoman said plantings within and around Seaholly Crescent were undertaken by the developer when the housing estate was built.
“Trees make a valuable contribution to the sustainability, health and liveability of a community while also contributing to biodiversity, shade and local wildlife,” she said.
Mr Thomas said he feared trees could fall on homes because of their height, proximity to homes and prevailing winds with storms of ever-increasing frequency and strength
“Two of the large trees along the walkway have fallen over in past storms and another has died before being removed by council,” Mr Thomas said.
