Paul Smit’s over-a-century-old plane trees under threat

Boksburg North residents are calling on the metro to protect the celebrated plane trees along Paul Smit Road, after a recent incident in which a group of men was seen cutting and chopping some of the trees.

These trees are believed to be around 100 years old and hold heritage value.

The incident sparked outrage among nearby residents, who said they were shocked to see the ‘unauthorised’ group of men cutting and chopping the branches of the massive trees, also known as Platanus.
According to one resident who contacted the Boksburg Advertiser to report the matter, the men—who appeared to be illegal loggers—arrived in broad daylight and began chopping the trees, which residents deem an iconic symbol of the road.

When the Advertiser arrived at the scene, a group of men was found chopping branches that had already been cut from the trees’ trunks with a chainsaw. They then loaded the chopped wood onto a bakkie and drove off.

One resident, 71-year-old Johan Havenga, questioned the government’s efforts to preserve the trees, saying they were already there when he used to walk the road on his way to the nearby primary school.

“This is wrong because all these trees have come to occupy an important place in the history of our neighbourhood. We don’t have a problem if it’s trained people sent out to carry out routine pruning. But this was clearly people who are after the trees.

“We, the residents here, treasure all the trees in our streets and understand that they are protected by by-laws that regulate their felling and require official approval even for pruning. If no efforts are made to stop this, we’ll wake up one day and all the trees lining our streets will be gone.”

Tracy Ferreira, who works at a business opposite the affected trees, also called for their protection after witnessing strangers taking advantage of them.
“We were all wondering what was going on. Initially, we thought it was the municipality, but after noticing how they were cutting the trees, we knew something wasn’t right.
These trees must be protected for all their characteristics, including their ability to enhance the beauty of the environment and offer shade with their sprawling canopies.”

Adrea Leitao said: “It’s such a shame that people just come here and destroy our trees. The trees create beautiful scenery and are so important for our health and the environment. It’s morally and environmentally wrong to destroy them for no valid reason.”
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Ward 22 Clr Madelaine Muller said she also received complaints about the trees and escalated the matter to the local parks department.
“I know the municipality confirmed that they had previously granted permission for some of the trees to be trimmed due to new developments in the area, but that was never meant to allow their destruction.
It’s concerning that people are now destroying the trees despite their heritage value. Steps must be taken to protect and conserve them.
Even the developers in the area need to be very sensitive when dealing with these celebrated trees.”

The metro has yet to comment.

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