A Tauranga landlord wants a “dangerous” protected pōhutukawa looming over his Fourth Ave building removed, fearing it could cause a landslide or kill someone if another massive limb falls.

The 21-metre-tall pōhutukawa is estimated to be about 150 years old and located on a neighbouring property in the Te Papa ward.

Tauranga City Council says the protected tree, which has a canopy spread of 35.2m, is one of the most monitored in the city with regular inspections and maintenance – and was not considered “an urgent safety risk”.

Ken Evans said five businesses tenanted his commercial premises on Fourth Ave.

Commercial property owner Ken Evans standing beside a fallen limb from a protected pōhutukawa tree on a neighbouring property in Fourth Ave, Tauranga. He wants the tree removed before another limb falls. Photo / Sandra Conchie

The pōhutukawa tree sits high on a bank on a residential property behind Evans’ building. Its canopy hangs over the building, a footpath and a shed.

Some limbs are braced by cables and a huge low limb has fallen through a wooden fence near the edge of the bank.

Evans said he bought his property in 1964, an 800sq m industrial building was erected on the site in 1984, and he had spent thousands of dollars stabilising part of the upper bank with a concrete protection wall.

A few years ago, a huge branch of the tree fell through the roof of his building, causing serious damage, he said. His insurer fortunately covered the repairs. He is now worried about the low limb at the edge of the bank.

The side of Ken Evans' commercial tenanted building in Fourth Ave, Tauranga, with some of the canopy of a huge pōhutukawa tree above the roofline. Photo / Sandra Conchie

“Each year, this huge limb that would weigh several tonnes gets lower and lower. I fear it could break through the concrete protection wall resulting in a landslide, and crash down on to my building and an exposed council sewage manhole directly below.”

Evans said he had contacted the council asking for the tree to be removed for safety reasons numerous times over the past 20 years.

Tauranga resident Ken Evans standing near a huge fallen limb of a protected pōhutukawa tree in Fourth Avenue. Photo / Sandra Conchie

“I’m worried if the tree is not removed, another falling limb might kill someone. I regularly work in and around my building under this huge limb. This tree is really dangerous as the huge limb is hanging over an open space and also putting pressure on the bank.”

Evans said he was worried someone could also be killed on the footpath and in or around the neighbour’s shed.

“This old tree is neither of use or ornamental value and if it’s [a] safety risk, I don’t see why it shouldn’t be removed,” he said.

Evans said he recently asked new Te Papa ward councillor Rod Taylor to look into his concerns.

Taylor said he met with Evans last month and had asked the council to have the tree further assessed.

Tauranga resident Ken Evans standing beside a huge protected pōhutukawa tree's fallen limb, near the concrete protection wall he erected on the boundary of his Fourth Ave property. Photo / Sandra Conchie

Taylor said he was happy with the council’s report, which showed professionals had taken some time to carry out their risk assessment, and had delivered a copy to Evans.

The neighbour on the residential property, who asked not to be named, told the Bay of Plenty Times that he understood Evans’ concerns but the council contractors regularly monitored the tree and its movements and did maintenance work as needed.

He was concerned that removing part of the tree could destabilise the entire tree.

“This tree is well over 100 years old and this is what older pōhutukawa do,” he said.

A nearby business owner, who also would not be named, said from a safety perspective that if a large limb fell and crashed into the end of the building, it could cause significant damage.

“Our concern is that now we are aware of this issue and if someone gets hurt, who will be responsible.”

Ken Evans' commercial tenanted building in Fourth Ave, Tauranga, with part of the canopy of a huge pōhutukawa tree above. Photo / Sandra Conchie

Barbara Dempsey, the council’s community services general manager, said the tree, estimated to be about 150 years old, was privately owned and classified as a protected tree under the Tauranga City Plan.

Under the City Plan, resource consents were required to remove or prune protected trees or carry out construction work near one.

Pōhutukawa trees were well-known for their bank stabilisation properties, Dempsey said.

“The limb Mr Evans refers to is growing on the southeastern side of the tree and has slowly settled over the years. It has formed a significant aerial root, which provides a substantial amount of propping support. It’s not likely that the limb will move any further.”

Dempsey said the council wanted to reassure residents that regular inspections and maintenance work were carried out on the tree.

Barbara Dempsey, Tauranga City Council's general manager of community services. Photo / Alex Cairns

“We do not consider it to be an urgent safety risk. If, in an extraordinary event, the limb was to fail, it is unlikely to impact the adjacent building and would most probably fall on to the bank,” she said.

“This limb has undergone weight reduction work in the past and has been pruned away from the footpath. We will continue to monitor this limb and the tree closely.

“We’ve also installed cable bracing for two purposes – one, to catch limbs in the unlikely event there is a failure, and as a monitoring tool.”

Dempsey said a southwestern limb overhanging the road road had moved slowly over the years and cable bracing allowed tracking of its movement and more weight reductions if required.

“Contractors have applied for resource consent to undertake further weight reductions on the tree, with most of this work planned for the southwestern limb.”

She said the tree was one of the 338 trees listed on the council’s notable trees register, which identifies those that contributed to the amenity of a surrounding area and /or the city’s landscape character and was inspected about every six months. It was one of about 50 protected pōhutukawa.

“This tree will continue to be one of the most highly monitored trees in the city.”

The council uses the Standard Tree Evaluation Method (Stem) when assessing the value of trees in the city plan.

Stem assessments consider several aspects of the tree including its size, vigour (health), age and role in the environment and trees must receive a score of 130 points or higher to qualify as a notable tree.

When the pōhutukawa in Fourth Ave was last assessed, it received a high score of 168 and was noted to have “very good vigour”, the council said.

Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.