While visiting Northmead Square and looking for a shady parking in this unbearable heat, I was shocked to find the trees have been hacked to pieces.
Send your letters to bctletters@caxton.co.za.
A song immediately came to mind: “Pave paradise and put up a parking lot…”
I can’t even call this pruning as the bark has been stripped off most of the branches as well.
We need this shade in summer.
Seems like common sense doesn’t apply anymore, or even a knowledgeable perception of how long trees take to grow, or that the leaves remove toxins in the air; something concrete and plastic cannot do.
Perhaps artificial trees will proudly be planted in their place.
Ivan Nefdt, general manager at the Bentel Group, responds to both letters:
We give you our assurance that we were as shocked to see the extent of the pruning that took place.
Our instruction to the new service provider was to trim the trees back strongly as our security camera’s view onto the parking lot was compromised.
It was never the intention to trim it back so severely that no branches were left behind.
The safety of our customers remain our first priority at the mall, and as we have had incidents of car theft and petty theft from vehicles, we had to take some precautionary measures by trimming the trees.
Our service provider has expressed his regret for the workmanship and has assured us that the trees will again flourish during the next season.
