Weighty issue: Kings Parade's giants are getting a prune

Watching on was consulting arborist Alex Austin from Sydney's Northern Beaches, whose report to Bathurst Regional Council recommended work on the park's 12 deodars.

"They haven't been pruned for a long time," he said.

"There has been a high rate of branch loss, which is increasing the risk to the public, damaging the trees and reducing their life expectancy.

"So we're doing some formative pruning to bring some structure and remove defects like broken branches, hanging branches and collapsed branches, overextended branches, wounded branches, rubbing branches - there's a whole plethora of problems going on.

"We're really aiming to reduce that risk and increase life expectancy."

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Doing the work on Tuesday, which is expected to take three days, was Bathurst's OS Trees.

Mr Austin said branches that fall from the deodars increase the risk of other branches coming down.

"When these branches fall, they can take all the other branches below them and you end up having an opened up, misshapen canopy," he said.

"Then those remaining branches have increased exposure or damage from the failure ... so it's like a vicious cycle of decline if you don't intervene."

Mr Austin said the deodars, which run either side of Kings Parade as formal avenue trees, are common for war memorials or central city parks.

"It is a colder climate species," he said.

He said he was in Bathurst about a month ago to assess the trees at council's request and then provided a report with his recommendations.

He will supervise the work this week to ensure the result is what he was seeking.

Mr Austin said council's willingness to carry out his recommendations showed that it "acknowledges and values the significance of these trees" and said this week's work on the deodars will hopefully ensure that "our children's children are still looking at them".

Mayor Robert Taylor said with the Bathurst Winter Festival fast approaching, "we need to ensure that these trees are safe for park users and that the necessary works are undertaken to maintain their health so that they can continue to remain a dominant feature of our city for many years to come".

Council said above average rain periods and warmer ideal growing periods over the past couple of years had led to "significant vegetative growth to outer canopy branches" that had placed "undesirable stress" on tree limbs and branches.

Council says the pruning work, which has started on the Russell Street side of Kings Parade, is anticipated to be completed by Friday, June 10.

The parking areas adjacent to Kings Parade in Russell Street and Church Street will be fenced off in sections as the tree work progresses.

For more information, phone Bathurst Regional Council on 6333 6111.