The City of Ballarat has reversed its position on replacing Civic Hall's infamous dead palm tree - it will now stay in place.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In November 2018, a day after it was re-planted at the site, the northern-most tree collapsed, mortally wounding where fronds grow from.
In October last year, council said a "replacement palm is being sourced from the local area" and noted "the terminal part of the palm where the prongs grow from is dead so the palm will not survive much longer".
FROM OCTOBER: City of Ballarat confirms Civic Hall palm tree has died
"Its condition has been determined by a City of Ballarat qualified arborist," the previous statement reads.
On Tuesday, council said it will stay at Civic Hall.
"There are no plans to remove the northern-most palm tree," the new statement reads.
"No action is required on the other two palm trees."
October's statement notes the other two trees are establishing well, and new fronds are growing.
Support structures will remain in place until at least October "to ensure the root system of the trees is robust enough to support them, before the support structures are removed".
The tree was gifted to Ballarat from the former Echuca Secondary College site - a media release from council at the time notes it was part of a Major Road Projects bridge construction project.
Council did not respond to a question about the cost of the project.
Speaking to The Courier in 2018, council's infrastructure and environment director Terry Demeo said initial transport for the palms was $16,000 with VicRoads meeting a portion of those costs.
Council paid around $20,000 to put the three trees in the ground, and further crane hire to re-erect the fallen tree and reinforce the two other palms is expected to cost between $15,000 and $20,000.
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.