Dear Marlborough District Council,

Background:

My name is Tony Hay and I am the owner, along with my wife, of 42 Lakings Road, Springlands, Blenheim.

On the 26th March 2019 I approached the Marlborough District Council (MDC) to discuss the removal of two and possibly a third tree on council road reserve “the berm” to the south of my property. I have subsequently asked for all 3 trees to be removed as the third tree regularly interferes with my electricity power line.

The question is why after having purchased the property in 2005 would I now be making the request. The answer is pretty simple as I detail below.

I bought the property in 2005 and at the time thought the trees could do with some upper branch pruning. This was carried out by Robert Hutchingson of the Councils Reserves Section. Since then the Council has through their contractor, Nelmac, carried out trimming of the lower branches on an ad hoc basis as well as maintaining branch clearance around my power line, as required by law and requested by me. The trees may well have been inspected periodically to make sure they were still standing but little attempt was made to “manage them, their shape, their height, their size, and their width”. Issues with the upper branches had not been addressed since 2005 until recently, which I will cover in later OIRs.

Two years ago I was becoming increasing aware that the consequences of the climate change crisis will cause an increase in abnormal weather events. The prime minister Jacinda Ardern called this “one of the greatest challenges of our time”. Parliament has recognised “the devastating impact that volatile and extreme weather will have on New Zealand and the wellbeing of New Zealanders”.

My Questions:

Climate Change is a priority of the New Zealand Government. Does the Marlborough District Council accept that the world is undergoing Climate Change and that they have fully signed up to the Government’s commitment on this subject?

If the answer to the above question is Yes, does the Marlborough District Council accept that at some stage Blenheim will be subjected to a severe weather event?

If the answer to the above question is Yes, does the Marlborough District Council take this into consideration in their planning and decision making?

Does Council believe that Climate Change will have an effect on Health and Safety in a severe weather event. If the answer to this is Yes, does the Marlborough District Council take this into consideration in their planning and decision making?

Yours faithfully,

Tony Hay

Dear Tony Quirk-8077,

Thank you for your reply. It is good to see that the Marlborough District Council has some high ideals. However, referring to Official Information Request “Tony Hay - OIR No. 10 – Electricity (Hazards from Trees) Regulations 2003” I would have to question whether the Council is living up to them. In my option they are falling well short.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Hay