PHOTO: GERARD O’BRIENA Mosgiel couple have given up the fight to remove a tree they say is threatening their family home, after a second bid for council permission failed. A poem to the pin oak and an AI-backed report have previously supported the couple’s efforts to remove the tree. However, the council’s hearing panel — commissioners Rosalind Day-Cleavin, Shane Roberts and Andrew Whiley — found the tree did not pose a significant risk. "The panel acknowledges there would be some benefit to the applicant and the neighbouring submitter from removing the tree. "However, no evidence was provided that any public benefit arising from removing the tree would be significant, nor that any public benefit outweighed the loss of the tree."

Source: Otago Daily Times March 17, 2026 21:37 UTC