I live in Mt Magnet, Western Australia and have a 100+ year old Morton Bay Fig tree growing at the side of my house. As you can imagine it is a very large, really beautiful tree. Our whole outdoor entertaining area was built and planned around this tree, and it has brought us and our large family much joy.
Last week the Shire of Mt Magnet contracted out a tree lopper to trim it back to the fence boundary. I was not advised of this by the Shire or the tree lopping company (they obviously trespassed to enter my property to cut the limb), and when I saw what they had done to this tree I was heartbroken. It has been chopped off far inside the fence line and has completely ruined the tree. The property the tree is on is Municipal Inventory Heritage Listed and it goes without saying that the tree and the house are both tourist drawcards (even mentioned on Tourist Brochures printed out by the Shire). The tree did not pose a problem regarding power lines nor does it have an invading root system, as you can see by the photos. I would not have had any problems if it was pruned the same as it was four or five years ago. I am disgusted by the botched pruning job done on this tree by supposed professionals and the apparent disregard the Shire have for history. The tree will never grow back to its former glory. Do you agree with me that this was not a professional job? Do you think I have cause for complaint and compensation? Thank you for your time.
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As you can see, there is a very large distance between where they have chopped the tree and the fenceline.
Please ignore the dates on the photos