100-year-old trees that are home to little owls face chop for new housing

Friday, 9 December 2022

Antoine Houle wants to save some 100-year-old elm trees facing the chop in a Kāinga Ora development in Christchurch.

A cluster of 100-year-old elm trees that home owls face the chop as part of a new housing development, to the dismay of locals.

The six trees on Domain Tce, in the Christchurch suburb of Spreydon, are on a site earmarked for 24 new Kāinga Ora houses. Little owls (not a native species) nest in two of them.

Neighbours have protested to Kāinga Ora about the tree removal and raised concerns publicly.

One resident, Antoine Houle, tried to purchase the land, but was outbid by a developer.

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The six trees at the front of the property will be chopped down to allow the Kāinga Ora development to be built.

Houle and his wife once lived in a tiny home on the property. Upon learning a later owner was selling in 2020, he mobilised the community to try to organise co-housing on the site.

“We wanted it to be common land, one house in the middle kind of thing, and people can go in there and cook together,” Houle said.

Seven people came together, Houle included, and created a development company. They had a paid consultant and hosted vision workshops.

Antoine Houle tried to buy the land with 1.8 million in 2020 but got beaten by Mike Greer.

Houle said they raised $1.8 million to buy the land but missed out.

“It was a grieving process,” he said. “I gave my soul to the project…We thought with $1.8m we would have enough.'

The land was bought by Balance Development Ltd, which lists Mike Greer among its directors, for $2m. It was sold to Kāinga Ora in 2022.

Elm trees in the future Kainga Ora development in Spreydon.

Houle has kept fighting. He wrote an open letter to Kāinga Ora, Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger, the Christchurch City Council and new property owners and has sought Spreydon locals’ signatures for a petition.

Duane Major, another concerned resident, wants to see the trees and section stay within the community.

“For me, it's not just about the trees, it's about the process and how communities can come together,” he told Stuff.

In an earlier Facebook post, he wrote: “In the neighbourhood I see more developments and less trees…and these particular trees are pretty special – probably among the biggest left in the hood and the only ones I know with the bird life including owls.”

The Kāinga Ora development is being built by Mike Greer Commercial. The 24 homes will include at least 20 on-site car parks along with private gardens and shared green areas.

Kāinga Ora regional director Canterbury Liz Krause said the agency appreciated the community's connection with the trees and wildlife. It consulted an ecologist and arborist before deciding to remove the elms. It hoped to retain two large beech trees on the site.

“We understand birds sometimes nest in the trees along the front boundary, so we are working on advice from the ecologist to ensure any fledglings in the trees which will be removed have gone before these trees are taken down. We will install nesting boxes in the two beech trees we expect to retain,” Krause said.

Kāinga Ora plan to recycle the timber from the trees and use it within the community.

Drop-in information sessions were held on Thursday in Spreydon by Kāinga Ora for neighbours and members of the community.

Krause said about 25 people attended to ask questions and give feedback as well as suggest ideas on how the recycled timber could be used.

*CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said the trees housed ruru (owls). An ecologist report commissioned by Kāinga Ora confirmed the birds in the trees are the non-native little owl (also known as german owls), not the native ruru. (Amended 7.57pm, December 9, 2022)