Preliminary works have begun at the Brisbane Racing Club’s (BRC) car park in Ascot between Lancaster Road, Kitchener Road, and McGill Avenue. This has brought on outrage from the residents upon discovering that mature trees have been removed on the site.
According to the residents, they weren’t informed that the trees were being removed. Environment, Parks and Sustainability Chairman Cr David McLachlan said that the council has begun initial works, which included the removal of 15 dead and diseased trees.
Cr McLachlan also mentioned that community Have Your Say sessions were held mid-May in which the council said the preliminary works include street trimming and the removal of 18 trees and they will be replaced by up to 50 new trees. He also said that the council wrote to the community in May to send a notification about the park creation associated tree works.
However, residents remain firm that they didn’t know about this. Last month, Cr McLachlan took to social media as well as to address the situation.
His post said that the trees were investigated by senior arborists and also reminded residents about two recent incidents where two significant trees in the area fell over without warning. He said that the council is only following the advice of an expert for the safety of the community.
Residents can view the arborist report at his office.
