At first, fruit trees in streets may seem to be a good solution. The reality is that fruit trees will not make good street trees in our city.
Council’s (unconfirmed) objective 1.14: Green, Leafy Suburbs, strives to provide suburban areas which are perceived as green and leafy, within the bounds of good industry practice. The Draft Urban Forest Plan concentrates on managing Council’s street tree asset primarily to improve the amenity values of the streetscape and suburban areas. Achieving this relies on selecting and managing trees for their form and stature, not their ability to produce crops.
Fruit trees are unlikely to make significant impact in the streetscape, will be relatively unproductive and will increase capital and maintenance costs. Most common fruit trees do not do well locally. They are susceptible to pests and diseases and require annual pruning. Few fruit and nut trees thrive in Hutt City and even these are likely to struggle in the harsh environment of road reserves. Very few would be categorised as quality trees, ie 7 to 15m height, good form and good health. Very few would make the grade in terms of Policy 1.14.2. Because fruit trees tend to be short lived, their use is likely to interfere with the aim of extending street tree lives from 70 to 90 years.
There may be scope to provide some fruit trees in Urban Parks but their use would depend on site conditions and the proposed function of the site.
This view is supported by arborists and horticultural experts.
The Strategy and Policy Committee considered the concept of fruit trees as street trees at their meeting on 11 November 2009 and accepted that fruit trees do not match Council’s aspirations for street trees.