Save Heritage Trees in Christchurch

You may also have received this update via the old Give A Little page, but the Independent Hearing Panel's decision on Trees is out and overall we've had some significant wins.

The key elements of the IHP's decision are as follows:

1) Our Mediated Agreement with the Christchurch City Council has been upheld, with 80% of the original 1623 trees on private land remaining on the Christchurch Plan schedule;

2) The Panel has also directed that the 724 listed trees on public land be returned to the Plan; and

3) The new Plan still contains a suite of provisions (objective, policies and rules) that continue to provide recognition and some protection for scheduled trees.

Overall, although we have lost some very good trees and still retain misgivings for the future (particularly given the culture within Council that proposed so drastic a reduction (ca. 84%) of the Heritage and Notable tree schedule in the first place) we believe this is a very good result for the Christchurch community and the landscape character of our city.

As always in such circumstances it has not been without cost, in terms of both time and money. To date the joined submitters have incurred actual costs of $80,865 -- a huge sum for a small group of private individuals, professional associations, and not-for-profit community groups.

We still have a residual debt of $9700 for which money must still be raised. For this reason, the Give A Little still remains open at: https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/saveheritagetrees

As we have indicated several items previously, however, we absolutely could not have done it without your financial and moral support, which has been critical. So please accept a huge thank you -- your contribution really has made a difference.