Ninove (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – In Ninove, 6 silver maples were heavily pruned after residents, including William De Neve, complained. Groen’s Jordy De Dobbeleer opposed it, while Alderman Schietecat defended the city’s decision.
As VRT News reported, in Ninove, 6 big silver maple trees were cut back heavily, and it has upset many people. The trees are near some apartments and were trimmed using a method called “candlestick pruning.”
Some people are worried that the trees are damaged. Experts say the trees will grow new branches later. But for now, they don’t give shade or look nice. The pruning has started a debate about how cities should care for trees while also helping people who live nearby.
What led Ninove to heavily prune 6 silver Maple trees?
The city of Ninove cut back 6 large trees after people in nearby apartments complained. They said the trees were too big and blocked the sunlight. William De Neve, one of the residents, asked the mayor to fix the problem. He said it was so dark they had to turn on lights during the day.
The city agreed and trimmed the trees. Now the homes get more daylight. Some people are happy with the result. Others think the trees look too bare. They worry the cutting was too much. The change has started a debate in the city. People are talking about how to care for trees and still help residents.
Groen Ninove, the local green party, is not happy with how the city handled the trees. Jordy De Dobbeleer from Groen says the trees were always pruned in a good way before. Now, he thinks the new method, called candlestick pruning, has damaged the trees. He says it looks like the trees are being blamed just for giving shade.
“It’s a complete mess and shows the city is not supporting green ideas,”
Jordy De Dobbeleer said.
De Dobbeleer also pointed to other choices by the city that upset him. He said the council cut money meant for Natuurpunt, a group that protects nature. He also said green spaces were taken away to add parking.
Alderman Pascal Schietecat from the party Forza Ninove said the city did the right thing by cutting the trees. He explained that the silver maples were planted in 2003, but they were not the right choice for that place. At first, people thought the trees would only grow to 12 meters, but some can grow as tall as 30 meters.
Schietecat said the trees caused problems for people living nearby, so action had to be taken. He believes the city is now fixing a mistake that should have been handled years ago. He knows the pruning may not look nice, but says it was needed. He also said the city might remove the trees later and plant smaller ones that are better for the area. But no final plan has been made yet.
