Hundreds of trees adjoining the train line in Sutherland Shire would be cut down under a plan to protect electrical infrastructure.
Large fig trees next to Sutherland station would be among those to be axed under a Sydney Trains draft management plan described as “brutal and horrendous” at the Sutherland Shire Council meeting on Monday night.
The draft plan would facilitate the removal of any tree within 10 metres of the electrical network.
Any replacement planting would be limited to three metre high shrubs.
Moving a successful motion to reject the draft plan, Cr Diedree Steinwall said it was “brutal and horrendous”, and would have “a dramatic effect on the look of the shire”.
Cr Steinwall said residents valued the shire’s tree canopy.
Last year, when Ausgrid and the council removed trees in Waratah Street, Sutherland and Kirrawee, because of proximity to power lines, more than 100 protest calls were received, she said.
Cr Ray Plibersek said, “I have seen a lot of bad plans in my time, and this is one of the worst”.
However Cr Kent Johns said Sydney Trains was “trying to keep residents safe”.
Cr Johns said trees within 10 metres of the electrical system could fall and cause fire, electrical accidents and disruption to services.
“If a major bushfire went through the shire and a tree fell, killing someone, we would be calling for the head of the minister,” he said.
Sydney Trains gave the council only a little over a month to provide comment on the draft plan, forcing staff to make a submission in advance of a formal decision.
The staff report said the approach underlying the draft plan was “overly simplistic and conservative, facilitating the removal of anything that could remotely be a risk”.
“The approach is considered to be excessive and far exceeds the requirements of Ausgrid, which faces similar challenges,” the report said.
“Ausgrid’s approach is to replant with appropriate smaller tree species.
“Sydney Trains proposes to limit all trees within 10 metres to three metre shrubs, and trees beyond 10 metres being required to be set back as much as their mature height.
“This effectively means that canopy trees cannot be replanted in or adjacent to the rail corridor.
“This approach over estimates the potential risks at the expense of amenity and biodiversity.”
The report said the amenity value of trees to their immediate neighbourhoods and the sense of place they created had not been considered.
“No consideration is given to whether pruning is a more appropriate solution,” the report said.
“For example, in Sutherland the fig trees adjacent to the rail corridor screen the rail infrastructure and help make Sutherland an attractive centre.
“The removal of these trees would be a significant loss to the centre and would be poorly received by the community.
“The draft tree management plan does not include any commitment for compensatory planting.
“This means that new trees will not be planted in more appropriate locations to compensate for the canopy lost along the rail line.”
The report said the proposed replanting species list was extremely limited and inadequate to support local biodiversity.
“Sutherland Shire has a strong commitment to re-establishing locally indigenous species on the land where they would have occurred prior to urbanisation,” the report said.
“The narrow species list proposed in the draft plan will jeopardise the success of this program because it ignores the subtleties of how landscape character changes across Sydney.
“Instead it will give the corridor its own heath like character at odds with its local context.”
State MPs will be asked to support the council’s objections to the draft plan.
