Nikau Tree `Deserves to Be Preserved for Its Natural Lifetime’

Sir, The (pre-Resource Management Act 1991) restriction properly placed on Mr Jones for the protection of this rare specimen tree represented appropriate concern of the city’s officials for the preservation of the environment.

The fact that Mr Jones was deprived of the full enjoyment of every square metre of his property was something which he tolerated as a reasonable landowner and many Nelson citizens have enjoyed admiring the nikau while waiting for the traffic lights to change.

The decision to remove the protection from a tree for the benefit of new developers of the site seems unreasonable. This is a tree which has been preserved for the past 36 years by council order and which shows no sign of being a danger to the community. It deserves to be preserved for its natural lifetime.

If it has been good enough for Mr Jones to work around for all this time, it should be good enough for any new owners to incorporate it into their development.

Nelson city has recently, if belatedly, established a heritage policy for the preservation of heritage buildings and other taonga. This tree has been part of that heritage for the past 70-odd years.

KEN MEREDITH

Nelson, February 19.

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