A frustrated resident is battling it out with council after a large gum tree fell and smashed his car parked outside his home. A tree he claims council inspected and deemed healthy, and not at risk of falling.
The wild scene came after a huge storm ravaged Sydney’s Inner West area a few days after Christmas, bringing down trees and powerlines. And while no one appeared to be injured, retiree Darryl Brown fears his car is now a costly “write-off”.
Residents have long expressed concern over the state of trees in the area, many of which are mature Kaffir Plum and gum trees which line the streets and parks. Last year, council told Yahoo News Australia an audit would be done on all trees in the area. But the latest incident has left some locals fuming.
Photos provided to A Current Affair show the 68-year-old’s brushed gold sedan buried underneath the humongous tree. Unfortunately for him, it’s the second time it’s happened in the same area, with the first occurring in 2015. For it to happen again, Darryl said “it hurts a bit”.
Darryl claims council brushed off the issue and accepted no fault. In correspondence received by the resident council said, it “can only be held responsible if it was aware of a situation and failed to take timely and appropriate action to remedy the hazard”.
But the 68-year-old claims he alerted council of the tree not once but twice, fearing it was at risk of falling. They attended the property but “assessed it as being low risk,” he claimed.
Darryl Brown claims he alerted council of the tree, fearing it would fall. But said they deemed it safe. Source: A Current Affiar
Calls for council to ‘inspect’ all trees after resident complaints
Now after significant damage caused to his car and fence, he wants council to take responsibility and cover the costs.
In a statement issued to A Current Affair, the Inner West council confirmed they’ve been in touch with Darryl over the matter. Council has allegedly offered him “ongoing assistance with submitting a claim to our insurer”.
“We will also be inspecting all of the trees in Rangers Rd at a time that suits Mr Brown so he can point out any particular areas of concern,” they said. Yahoo News Australia contacted Inner West Council for further comment on the matter.
The large Kaffir Plum tree came crashing down unexpectedly in a park in Sydney’s Inner West last year, sparking concern among locals. Source: Facebook
Residents concerned over state of trees in the area
Speaking to Yahoo last year, Councillor Philippa Scott said many locals feared trees in the area were being neglected by council. Her comments came after “one of the biggest trees” she’s ever seen toppled over at a park in Leichhardt. At the time, it was thought root rot was to blame.
However, Scott said “our tree team is attentive to tree health”. “They are trimmed and checked regularly and residents do also report unhealthy trees to us as well,” she told Yahoo.
Following the incident, a council spokesperson confirmed they would be undertaking a tree audit on all trees across the LGA.
“This audit undertakes a risk assessment on the trees and recommends any works that may be required to address the risk,” they said. The outcome of this audit is unknown.
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