Cabonne Shire Council will on Tuesday look over a petition containing almost 200 signatures, accompanied by six supporting letters, objecting the planting of new trees along Molong's Bank Street.
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The petition will be provided to council under separate cover for its meeting on Tuesday, as it only meets two of the four minimum requirements of council's Petition Policy.
Objecting the trees stems from a component of the Molong Town Centre Plan - a community engagement project given the green light in 2020, where Cabonne Shire Council agreed to its funding in order to promote village growth.
It also tied in with the Cabonne Community Strategic Plan 2022, which identified the relevance of several "key future directions" - one of those marked 'street trees' under the town centre analysis.
"Molong is well endowed with street trees," the report said.
"The Town Centre appears less barren than other centres in the region where street trees are not well established.
"Facing hotter climate conditions, it may be timely to introduce additional trees at key locations in the Town Centre; species that complements existing street trees and provides more cooling shade and green spaces in summer months."
That analysis further noted the planting of larger "signature" trees could enhance the centre's character, promoting its attraction to the area even more, along with being both a cost-effective improvement and an "engaging urban design" for the main street.
"Street trees provide shade and shelter from the elements," the report added.
"They also inject character into the Town Centre and help to soften the built form. An advanced tree can be purchased for $500 and with the right preparation and care it can grow into a magnificent feature that can transform a place and make it immensely valuable and attractive.
"Additional street tree planting is considered necessary to improve the appearance and amenity of the approaches to the Molong Town Centre."
For the interim, council says a workshop detailing the design approach has been arranged for June, with a trip to Inverell being arranged - reason being, its main street upgrades are on par with Molong's vision.
"[The main street in Inverell] is of a similar style to that which is being proposed for Bank Street," council papers read.
"Councillors will be invited to attend [and] there will be an opportunity to provide further information to the community after this," council papers said.
It's not public knowledge as to who objected to the trees or which areas the 197 signatures originally came from, though, council says a 'detailed response to the concerns raised' in the petition will be produced in its ordinary June meeting next month.
Other items for the monthly meeting on May 24 in chambers, will include a review of the shire's quarterly budget and new annual fees for the mayor and councillors - which see a slight rise for the first time since 2020.
An established vineyard on Boree Lane has also written to council for consent, asking for construction permission of a cellar door building as an add-on activity.
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