Hello All,

This is a tragic outcome despite attempts to avoid it. Thank you to all who joined together to raise awareness and try to persuade Council to do the right thing. 

They have made a critical mistake that will haunt them forever. They collaborated with a developer whose recent practices in this area have been called into question. They declared the destruction of ancient remnant podocarps an ‘Operational Issue’. In fact this has always been a ‘Conservation Issue’ but a tiny number of men working behind closed doors did their dirty work in isolation from the community and our elected council representatives. Changing minds was always an option but a closed door democracy does not listen to or hear our voices. 

Many people are seeing the irony of UHCC protecting and restoring a rotten 100 year old man-made structure at Beechwood Lane that cost rate payers $633,000 (loan funded) while refusing to protect 300+ year old taonga trees that pre-date the arrival of Europeans to Aotearoa, are part of a draft SNA and protected by legislation at regional and central government levels. There is no logic to this cruel action by UHCC. It is a council that shamefully legalises the destruction of indigenous biodiversity. 

M.B.T sent this article to The Upper Hutt Connection.

26/08/24