The Lower Houghton Ratepayers Association is angered by the alleged ‘butchering’ of healthy jacaranda trees along Houghton Drive on 6 March.
Chair of the environmental committee at the association, Wendy van der Merwe said they received a call from a concerned Houghtonian notifying them that City Parks was allegedly ‘decimating’ trees in Houghton Drive.
Van der Merwe said, “I arrived on-site to see nine perfectly healthy jacarandas butchered unreasonably. The City Parks team was about to cut the last two trees but myself and another resident prevented them from doing so.
“We are very disturbed to see healthy trees being so drastically cut when we are losing other trees at a rapid rate to PSHB [polyphagous shot-hole- borer].”
Van der Merwe said she estimated that 70 per cent of the tree was removed when arborists recommended that no more than 30 per cent of a tree should be pruned.
“Pavement trees are City Parks’ property and it is their responsibility to look after them, so I could not believe what I was seeing with my eyes when I arrived on site on Friday,” added Van der Merwe.
Senior horticulturist at Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, Raymond Zuma said an investigation had been conducted concerning the complaint.
“The trees in question were not hacked but they were pruned by our team of experts…. The service was requested by the resident and owner of the property concerned,” added Zuma.
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