The mayor of a Perth council has issued an apology after dozens of trees were mistakenly cut down during a local park upgrade.
The Town of Victoria Park confirmed that 65 trees were felled at Elizabeth Baillie Park during construction works that began in March – far exceeding the 11 that had been approved for removal.
Of those, 19 were taken down because they were deemed to be in poor condition or posed safety risks.
However, the remaining 46 were removed without council approval.
Mayor Karen Vernon said the council takes “full responsibility” for the incident, adding, “I sincerely apologise to our community.”
Vernon acknowledged the failure to properly oversee the contractor’s work, saying the council had not been able to “ensure that the contractor was taking the requisite amount of care of those trees.”
She has since called for a full investigation.
“If that includes some people losing their position then that may very well be the consequence of that process,” she told 7NEWS.
WA Tree Canopy Advocates chair Sarah Allchurch said the environmental loss was unacceptable.
“The city can’t afford these kind of mistakes,” she said.
“There needs to be some accountability from the person who signed the work order right through to the guy holding the chainsaw. We need to stop before we chop.”
As part of the park upgrade, 43 new trees were originally set to be planted. The council has now pledged to more than double that number to compensate for the loss, though officials acknowledged it will take years before the area recovers.
“The problem is that when you start to look at that, you’re looking at mature trees that have gone and you’re looking at a lead time before they actually come back to fruition – I mean, I’ll be dead by then,” local resident Patrick Bourke said.
Images: 7NEWS
