Bridge church apologises about trees being cut down

According to the church, their primary intent was to uplift the community wherever possible and part of the endeavour in removing the trees was to clean up a public area that does not live up to the standard of excellence.

In a statement provided to the RECORD, the following additional reasons were given for the removal of the trees on Jacqueline Avenue:

• The trees and subsequent pavement area had not been maintained as well and as frequently as necessary. The church had been of their own accord and cost regularly cleaning up and disposing of fallen organic debris.

• The trees had been reportedly a shelter for vagrants and some criminal elements creating security concerns. On multiple occasions, they say that they had to rely on private security firms for their assistance in securing the church’s fence line when people have scaled the fence and trespassed on the property. This also posed an additional security risk to all residents in and around this area.

• The trees posed an additional safety risk to the congregants and residents owing to the overhead Eskom lines that do and have arced through the trees to the ground destroying equipment and posing a significant risk. One such event took place in September.

• The trees have breached the sewerage infrastructure at times resulting in sewerage build up in and around the pavement providing a cesspool of human waste collecting. Owing to the clay substrate, this waste often remains surface-based for days. The cleaning of which had been done by the church at our cost.

• Bridge has maintained the pavement for years including cutting the grass, picking as removing fallen pine needles and other tree debris, and clearing away all the litter and food that remained left by the hawkers finding shelter under the trees.

• Lastly, they have also had complaints from residents regarding the hawkers on what they deem to be Bridge property. Informal hawkers making use of the shade for trade leave a constant mess and the matter has been addressed over the years to no avail.

The Bridge Church is planning an upgrade to uplift the entire area affected. They are in discussions with the local ward councillor and the Parks Department to bring about the change.

This process is set to begin on October 4 with the removal of the tree stumps, where after with guidance from the parks department new plants and trees will be planted to replace those cut-down.