Close to two dozen coconut palms facing the axe
Shire trees
More than 20 coconut palms are being chopped down across Port Douglas and Oak Beach due to “structural defects”.
Douglas Shire Council began axing the trees yesterday (Tuesday, July 8) following assessments by tree experts during the regular round of coconut de-nutting of about 740 palms maintained by the council on public land, according to a release this week.
The trees “pose risks to public safety and maintenance crews”, the DSC stated, and they are being removed due to issues such as “termite infestation, crown instability, trunk decay, and cavities”.
“These conditions significantly increase the risk of failure and make ongoing maintenance hazardous,” according to the council.
Mayor Lisa Scomazzon said she hoped the community would be understanding of the Council’s decision to remove the trees.
“We understand how much our community values these iconic palms, and we do too,” Mayor Scomazzon said.
“That’s why we maintain over 700 coconut palms across Port Douglas and Oak Beach.
“We thank the community for their understanding and support as we work to ensure our public spaces remain safe and enjoyable for everyone.”
The DSC did the first comprehensive coconut-palm survey in a decade last November, which outlined how all the trees needed to be de-nutted twice between about May to December to reduce the risk of injury from falling nuts.
Mayor Scomazzon said at the time the coconut palm was a much-loved species, but the trees also came with a public-liability threat.
“The risk of injury from being hit by falling coconuts is real, with many stories of near misses,” she said.
The council’s Coconut Management Action Plan was introduced in the mid 2010s to reduce its exposure to public-liability claims and to protect people from being injured by falling coconuts, fronds and trees.
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