Last year, the Worst Neighbour (at the time, the arsehole landlord of a neighbouring property) put in a planning permit application to demolish the house on that property, and build a “use every legally-permitted square cm” two storey duplex of 3-bedroom townhouses on the site. OK, urban infill happens, but this particular person is known to all surrounding neighbours for being dodgy as fuck. Sadly, “everyone says this guy is dodgy as fuck” doesn’t count for anything in planning permit approvals, so they duly issued a permit pending a number of conditions, including the requirement for a “tree protection management plan”, associated with a massive lemon-scented gum just on our side of the boundary fence. That plan was completed, and published on the website along with the permit approval. The existing house was demolished late last year.

Two days ago they started preliminary construction work… and evidently decided “fuck the tree protection management plan, we’ll just take our chances” - one worker lopped off an entire lower branch of the tree (the TPMP said “no pruning”), and then they used a boring machine to drill deep holes for foundation piles, about ten of which lie clearly within the supposed “tree protection zone” (that is meant to be entirely protected at all times, and only minimal excavation done by hand under the supervision of an arborist).

I’m hoping council’s enforcement arm absolutely throw the book at those arseholes.