CLAREMONT | RONDEBOSCH
TUESDAY 15 September 2020 | Tel: 021 910 6500 | Email: post@peoplespost.co.za | Website: www.peoplespost.co.za
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People’s Post
SCOUTING AROUND FOR TREES: A group of Scouts visited Newlands Nursery on Monday 7 September to collect their spekboom, attend a demonstration on how the plant can be grown from cuttings, and learn where it is suitable to plant their spekboom. Their visit forms part of a partnership between the City of Cape Town and Scouts South Africa which will result in 2 000 spekboom plants being adopted by active members of scouting clubs within their respective communities. The event was one of many held by the City to celebrate the start of Arbor Month. Read more on page 9.
RONDEBOSCH
Crime rate cuts into trees NETTALIE VILJOEN NETTALIE.VILJOEN@MEDIA24.COM
W
hen counting the costs of residential burglaries, insurance companies are quick to tally up stolen items, however, it seems trees are also paying the price for the high crime rate. The 2019/2020 annual crime statistics released at the end of July reflect a staggering number of 205 959 cases reported. To avoid becoming part of this statistic, some property owners have taken to indiscriminately cutting off the overhanging branches of trees growing outside the perimeter of their properties on public ground. Not only is this illegal but also this indiscriminate “pruning” could damage the tree irreparably. TreeKeepers, a community group dedicated to conserving urban trees and forests, was alerted to one such case in August. A Mulberry tree, growing on a road verge at the end of the Campground Road cul de sac in Rondebosch, was severely damaged when
a resident had branches chopped off, without the City’s permission. According to various City bylaws, trees on City land, including all street verges, public places and parks, are public property and may not be pruned or removed without written permission from the City’s recreation and parks department. If found guilty of breaking these laws, the penalty could range from a R300 to R1 000 fine. Zahid Badroodien, Mayco member for community services and health, says it is important that property owners do not remove or cut back trees located on City land because it is the City’s property and only City agents may perform work on them. “This is to ensure safety to the tree, the environment and prevent public liability claims,” he adds. Badroodien confirms the department did investigate the damage done to this particular street tree. “With reference to the investigative report (Case no. 8/5/2020), a resident’s’ house had been burgled in May, with two more attempted burglaries by gaining access using the mentioned street tree that
hung over the fence into the property.” Badroodien explains that before the incidents, the property owner had contacted the recreation and parks area office, requesting for the trimming of the tree, and also went to the Cape Town Civic Centre to report the incident, but was unsuccessful due to lockdown measures. He says the property owner “out of desperation” contracted a service provider to cut off the offending branches. On inspection, the tree was found to be severely disfigured. However, the department determined corrective pruning was possible. Taking mitigating factors into consideration, the department decided not to prosecute the resident. “The resident will be responsible for and incur the cost to conduct corrective pruning under the supervision of a department official,” he adds. Clare Burgess, TreeKeeper’s chair, says if residents have a concern about any tree, it is best to consult an expert such as an arborist or tree care worker. “Since trees and shrubs often impact on the effectiveness of electric wires and security fencing, there
needs to be a clear understanding of how to manage this aspect of horticultural maintenance and delegation of authority to the appropriate workforce,” she advises. She says sometimes it is necessary to prune away overhanging branches of trees but, in the long term, most of the branches will eventually grow above the level of the electric fence or spikes and will not impact the efficiency of the security system. Wahl Bartmann, CEO of the Fidelity Services Group, says, as a security company, it does advise residents to look at the perimeter of their property as this is often their best line of defence against any criminals. “Perimeter security measures include barbed wire, electric fences and outside beams. We also recommend residents look at any natural structures that could give easy access to their properties and consider having this trimmed back,” he says. However, Bartmann says it is important residents remember and adhere to the municipal regulations. V For pruning of trees on City land, call 0860 103 089 or email arborist@capetown.gov.za.
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