Developer of adjacent property requests removal of one of town's oldest and largest trees, citing unreasonable risk; Mount Gambier, Australia

Massive tree faces the chop
One of the city’s oldest and largest street trees faces the axe, following complaints by a nearby landholder who is developing the adjacent Jardine Street site. Businessman Adrian de Bruin, who owns the old convent site and is building 30 luxury townhouses, has written to council claiming the ageing 18 metre high and 18 metre wide red flowering gum is a risk to the public and should be felled.
At Mount Gambier City Council’s operational services committee, one councillor flagged he would “reluctantly” vote for the tree to be removed.
This is despite council undertaking remedial works several years ago to prolong the tree’s life.