FRIDAY'S protest to save trees in Jacques Park appears to have bought some time to hold further discussions with Bathurst Regional Council.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A group of protesters gathered in the South Bathurst park on Friday morning to stop council workers from removing any more trees, after a poplar was cut down earlier in the week.
The residents understand that sometimes trees pose a threat and need to be removed, but they believe that healthy trees, like the ones set to get the axe, shouldn't be among them.
Councillor John Fry shares the residents' views and has urged council to at least allow two healthy poplar trees to remain along the creek.
He also wants to see the Natural Resources Advisory Committee, a group that includes council staff and community members, to be reconvened to discuss council's policy on tree removal.
"The policy, in essence, is that the trees are either unsafe - which we are not arguing with that - they're a biosecurity risk, and they're a risk for flooding patterns," Cr Fry said.
"We don't agree with that, because we don't see how they're a biosecurity risk or how they're a risk to houses or properties. We fail to understand that.
"I've asked now if we can retain those two trees until we can review council's policy, because we believe that the policy needs an upgrade."
He and the protesters say that the policy is decades old and is now outdated.
"Twenty years ago, I was part of the community input that created the policy, so I'll take some of the blame for that, but now is the time to reform it and reference that to climate change," Cr Fry said. "We need all the plants and trees, shade, and water holding capacity that we can get."
In a response to the Western Advocate last week, council's manager for recreation said up to eight trees and a number of poplar suckers are due to be removed in the park's riparian creek area.
He said it was "a necessary requirement to ensure that the Bathurst region's river systems do not degrade back to their previously poor condition".