Letter to Brian Boddy, CCC, 30 May 2006

Dear Brian

Please find attached a flyer I have sent out to residents of St James Ave. In a nutshell, we respectfully suggest:

• there is more life in the trees than your arborist cares to admit
• the arborist insists on perfection or nothing, yet many places in the city benefit from replacement on demand
• the so-called stunted tree at the park entrance which has been held up as an example of overly close planting, is nothing of the sort
• road construction needs to be properly supervised to avoid tree damage.
• the CCC's record of tree husbandry in Papanui is not good (e.g. tree maintenance in St James Ave, and what appears to be a scorched earth policy in Matson's Ave!), although developments in Perry and Dormer Streets provide us with hope.
• this is not only a special street which we value highly as residents, but also a street that has special meaning for Returned Servicemen and their families.
  

We are not at all happy about the proposal and intend to change it to something that will more closely match the needs of St James Ave residents and the wider Papanui community.

Yourse sincerely

Mike Hurrell
121 St James Ave