Tara Murray
The removal of more than 50 trees at Keilor Cemetery is distressing, according to Keilor Historical Society president Susan Jennison.
Mrs Jennison said she was driving past the cemetery when she noticed that a number of trees had been removed, leaving the border of the cemetery looking bare.
“They had been there for a long time, going back to the 19th century. It has caused so much distress to see,” she said.
“They’ve been destroyed, and how will they be replaced? This has been handled poorly.
“We’re also confused as there’s a heritage overlay over the site.”
Mrs Jennison said she spoke to the arborist who was conducting the work and was told that the society and neighbours had been notified that the trees would be removed in January.
“To my knowledge we never received an email about the trees, I would have remembered receiving that,” she said.
“We’ve taken a big interest in the Keilor Cemetery and were set to launch a heritage walk up their last year and we didn’t know anything about it.”
The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (GMCT), which runs the cemetery, said they were in the process of removing and replacing 56 declining Monterey cypress and eucalyptus trees, primarily located along the Cemetery Road boundary.
They applied to Brimbank council for a planning permit for the works, due to the site being under the heritage overlay. This was approved in last April.
A GMCT spokesperson said the trees that have been removed have experienced branch failures and structural failures in recent years and that all affected trees have been independently assessed as having reached the end of their life span
“GMCT takes the health and safety of all cemetery visitors seriously, and we consider these works essential to safeguarding the health and safety of the communities we serve,” the spokesperson said.
“Each tree removed as part of these works will be replaced with native species in accordance with the planning permit issued by Brimbank council.”
GMCT says it reached out to 25 businesses in the vicinity of the cemetery, installed approximately 40 signs to notify visitors to the affected areas, published notices on their website, and emailed key stakeholder groups, including the Keilor Historical Society.
GMCT said once it had became aware of the Keilor Historical Society not receiving the email, their arborist contacted Mrs Jennison.
Brimbank council city development director Kelvin Walsh said the permit meant that replacement trees had to be planted in the same location as the previous trees.
“Whilst council is very disappointed to see these trees removed, expert arboricultural advice indicated that the trees were in poor condition and had a limited life expectancy. The replacement trees have been specifically selected as they are known to be tolerant to the local conditions but are also nominated as a suitable species within the Conservation Management Plan for the Keilor Cemetery.”
