Phillipa and Darren Bain requested the Dunedin City Council grant resource consent for the removal of a protected pin oak from their King St home as recently discovered cracks in its trunk posed an urgent risk to surrounding properties, they said.
A poem to the pin oak and an AI-backed report have previously supported the couple’s efforts to remove the tree.
A similar application by the couple has already been before the Environment Court.
However, the council’s hearing panel — commissioners Rosalind Day-Cleavin, Shane Roberts and Andrew Whiley — found the tree did not pose a significant risk.
In a decision released on Friday refusing the application, the commissioners said they were not persuaded evidence was "sufficient to support a conclusion that a significant risk exists, particularly given the degree of interpretation required to assess the risk posed by the crack".
"The panel acknowledges there would be some benefit to the applicant and the neighbouring submitter from removing the tree.
"However, no evidence was provided that any public benefit arising from removing the tree would be significant, nor that any public benefit outweighed the loss of the tree."
In a statement yesterday, Ms Bain said the family were "so disappointed" by the decision.
"While it’s not the outcome we wanted, we need to accept it and move forward as we don’t have the resources or energy to keep on fighting."
The application received eight public submissions — all were in support of the tree’s removal.
The couple lodged an Environment Court appeal against a 2024 council decision, which also declined resource consent for removal.
The appeal was struck out in November, after the council received the second resource consent application — because the couple failed to comply with the court’s evidence timetable and had "not filed any evidence", Judge Prudence Steven said in her decision.
Applicants and submitters have 15 working days to appeal the decision to the Environment Court.
