Key documents and links
On Newcastle City Council’s website there is a page called ‘Key documents’ that includes lots of spin information about the trees in Laman Street that they are champing at the bit planning to fell.
Not to be outdone, I decided to put my favourite links together so they can be found easily. The picture of the gorgeous protesting dog is by Sharon Healey.
Mark Hartley,the community-commissioned arborist’s report: [edit 19.10.10:]if you read nothing else about these trees, read this. It’s user-friendly, straight-forward, comprehensible and takes very little time. You don’t have to be an arborist to understand it. Mr Hartley has moved 49000 mature trees in his career, including on barges from China to the Middle East. He knows a bit about tree roots (not to mention soils and QTRA).
Mark Hartley’s response to some councillors is the second thing you should read. It also has some fantastic pictures of tree roots.
29.9.2011: Mr Hartley’s updated report from September 2011 is here
What a link.
Pictures of why council chopped down three trees after the Pasha Bulker storm
Sean Freeman peer review:
Jan Allen peer review:
Prof Mark Stewart on QTRA report for Newcastle City Council:
QTRA_Laman_Street_Stewart_2011[1]
Dr David Lonsdale on Laman Street:
David_Lonsdale_Newcastle_NSW-figs-DL-lett-06-Jan-12[1]
Mike Ellison’s report:
Mike Ellison response to council memo:
Ian MacKenzie report on Laman Street:
12_Laman St figs report 280910[1] McKenzie
ENSPEC statement:
ENSPEC – Tree Overturning Statement 13-10-2011-2
Marsden affidavit for Land and Environment Court: (see paragraphs 21 and 27 for how Mr Marsden was informed of the alleged failures of trees in Laman St)
Marsden Affidavit 1 Oct 2010-1
Videos about Laman Street:
John Sutton talking about the Laman Street campaign at ‘Radical Newcastle’
Jeremy Barrell and David Cashman, attending the annual conference of the International Society for Arboriculture,
interviewed about Laman Street
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0hr80uTo0Q
‘8 stupid reasons to cut down nice trees’:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuDGEQn4wrw&feature=email
‘Does Civic Park really need fixing?’
http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=0ahYGhHlP3w
‘The Perilous Figs of Laman Street’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wtlqyd3cojY
‘Honk to Save the Avenue of Figs in Laman Street’
Save Our Figs and other trees in Newcastle 
September 8, 2011 at 6:30 pm |
If these trees are chopped down, and that proposal is pushed through – which I fear looks the predestined direction that this is all going – then I suspect Newcastle will transform from the beautiful beachside area similar to the east of Sydney but on a more personal scale, into another soulless western Sydney clone. Buman and his cronies won’t be getting any attention from me in future.
I can imagine the appeal of living in an area similar to a bare and Western-Sydney style village causing the property values in Newcastle proper to plummet.
The council should focus on GPT first rather than these allegedly ‘dangerous’ trees (has anyone else noticed none of them have fallen down since all this debacle has really started?).