Drysdale Avenue resident Ray Darbritz wants the scrappy native trees outside his house to be replaced with Scarlet Oak trees, which he says will match the look of the Narre Warren North street.
By Danielle Galvin
RESIDENTS in an affluent street in Narre Warren North are calling for the scrappy shrubs that line the nature strip to be removed and replaced with scarlet oak trees.
Ray Darbritz is leading the charge in Drysdale Avenue in a move that he says will improve the streetscape and match the houses on the suburban street.
He claims that the native, shrubby trees do not complement the ‘look’ of the avenue. “The small native trees (look) more like bushes than trees.”
Seventeen residents from Drysdale Avenue signed a petition for the native shrubs to be removed and replaced with larger trees. “The council planted them in good faith six years ago. But they are not performing,” he said.
Mr Darbritz has been calling for the removal of the trees since last year, and claims that people driving through the street remark at it starkness. “It looks quite bare with the houses set so far back,” he said. He says that the trees are unlikely to grow as tall as the others in the immediate vicinity.
“Part of the problem is that it doesn’t look like a neighbourhood. If we plant scarlet oak trees or large native trees, in 10 years Drysdale Avenue could look like a boulevard,” he said.
Residents who live on the avenue and signed the petition want the City of Casey to remove the trees on the stretch of road between houses 165 to 187.
Mr Darbritz says that it’s the trees on the nature strips between these houses that are the problem.
“These trees have now been in the nature strip for over five years and have grown modestly over this period. They now stand at two metres, whereas the trees planted at the same time in adjacent Highgrange Way stand well above that.”
Most of the houses in the street sit on half-acre blocks.
City of Casey mayor Shar Balmes wants to make sure the trees are replanted, rather than chopped down and disregarded.
“I’m really proud of the fact that we don’t waste trees. If they are healthy and in good condition, the council will have to find somewhere else to replant them,” she said.
Mr Darbritz says that Drysdale Avenue has huge potential.
“What we want is to attract people to Narre Warren North and by making a small investment, in a few years people will drive down the avenue and be reminded of a small country town,” he said.
The City of Casey has contracted arborists to assess the area.
“The next stage of this process is referring the matter to the parks and reserves department. They will decide whether or not it is cost effective, viable and practical to remove the trees,” Cr Balmes said.
