Oxford St resident James Fogarty said he laughed when he read in The Star last week about residents concerns about the Dunedin City Council pruning trees lining streets in Maryhill and Maori Hill.
Residents in his street had had repeatedly asked the council to prune the trees in their street, especially the four "massive" mature trees on the northern side of his street, near his house.
"The trees do not get seen to. We’ve been waiting for the trees to be pruned for nearly 20 years now. It’s laughable — bordering on ridiculous."
Tree branches posed a danger.
Some branches, which nearly touched houses, were surrounded by powerlines.
In a storm, falling branches could injure pedestrians or damage homes, he said.
Leaves regularly filled the gutters of the roofs of nearby houses and tree roots damaged footpaths.
He wanted the council to prune the trees "right back to nothing" or remove them completely.
Council Parks and Recreation acting group manager Scott MacLean said the council allowed trees not at risk of interfering with electrical infrastructure to grow more naturally.
"We have no plans to prune or remove these trees."
The trees on the western side of Oxford St were not obstructed by overhead powerlines and did not require Crown maintenance.
The domestic lines near the trees were cleared under the council’s tree maintenance contract.
Last week, The Star reported residents’ concerns about council contractors pruning work in Maryhill and Maori Hill.
Mr McLean said after several inquiries, the council was reviewing its current pollarding programme.
"To ensure a balance is struck between streetscape amenity and annual maintenance costs."
