TODAY
14o Fog then sunny
15o 15o 11o TUE
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THURS
SES callouts on track to reach 300
www.wangarattachronicle.com.au
Monday, August 14, 2023
Fallons supportive of zero emission bus plan
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Callum Moore boots another 10
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Sport
POINT AND SHOOT AT the North East Track’s Hands on Trades Career Expo last Thursday Danielle Spokes (right) taught students such as Patrick Waudh how to use the hose at the SES exhibit. PHOTO: Kurt Hickling ■ See story and more photos page 2
Fight for “risky” trees Council explains p thinking g behind p plans to remove several Merriwa Park red ggum trees TWO conflicting risk assessment reports delivering alternative fates for 10 red gum trees at Merriwa Park have been questioned by concerned residents. It’s the latest council assessment completed in July that has marked 10 trees for removal that Wangaratta residents Claire Russell and Ann Ryan
BY STEVE KELLY skelly@ nemedia.com.au
question as it differs greatly to an external qualified tree risk assessment (QTRA), delivered last November. The first assessment was compiled following a large gum tree in Merriwa Park
in September 2022, which triggered work around safety precautions including closure of the park and the moving of events such as the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues due to safety reasons. The QTRA showed the trees in question were all of good health and the risk level of falling was “<1:1,000,000 broadly acceptable”.
Council reopened Merriwa Park to the public in December 2022 based on this report and continued to monitor the health and stability of the trees. A tree near the Christopher Robin Kindergarten at the park was felled in February this year due to safety concerns, another fell by its own accord in April, and the
WANGARATTA BEARINGS AND INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES
most recent fell in early July. Council conducted another assessment in July finding that five of the 10 “high to extreme” risk trees were “almost certain” to fall, with the rest “likely” to fall. The report shows that all of the marked trees are on a lean close to infrastructure which people frequent on
the daily basis, for instance park benches, the barbecue and playground. Ms Russell, who last month publicly expressed her disapproval of the removal of trees in the park, and nearby Meldrum Street resident Ann Ryan, were both unhappy about the new council report findings. ■ Continued page 2
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