It wasn’t until she went outside that she discovered workers had cut away half the plane tree in the street.

Ms West was one of many residents who received a letter from Essential Energy in November explaining that the street’s power lines would be moved underground in a bid to save the trees.

“I ran over and said, ‘You don’t need to do it’,” she said.

“There’s clearly been some crazy stuff-up with Essential Energy.”

Ms West was shocked when she saw the extent of the pruning which left one side of the tree are from the power lines to the ground.

“Whenever they’ve trimmed it before they’ve only needed one metre around the power lines,” she said.

Essential Energy community relations manager Penny Cox said the vegetation in National Avenue had been growing “dangerously close” to the street’s overhead power lines.

“Essential Energy engaged vegetation contractors to trim trees to meet mandatory clearance zones,” she said.

Ms Cox said it would be two months before work began to move the power lines underground as part of a major network upgrade for the Orange central business district.

“Essential Energy recognises that maintaining the local aesthetics of an area is important,” she said.

“However, aesthetic considerations need to be balanced with the safety of the public.”

Although Ms West concedes that the damage has already been done, she wants someone to take responsibility for the tree which she believes will never be the same again.

Chair of Orange City Council’s tree sustainability committee councillor Neil Jones said the pruning was “far in excess” of what was needed given the impending undergrounding of the power lines.

“The decision to do such severe limb removal compromises the future of the tree,” he said.

“It could result in weak branches that could pose a future safety threat and can lead to disease problems in the trees.”

However, Ms Cox said all Essential Energy contractors use arboriculture techniques “recognised as best practice”.

Both Cr Jones and Ms West were disappointed they received no notification from Essential Energy prior to the pruning.

clare.colley@ruralpress.com