The City of Ballarat has been ordered to move nearly 20 trees planted in Miners Rest only days after they were put in the ground.
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This comes after residents raised concerns about the projected height of a number of trees planted directly underneath powerlines along Raglan Street.
The responsibility to prune the trees once they mature and potentially grow tall enough to reach the powerlines would fall to the energy distributor, in this case Powercor.
Because of this, Powercor staff met with City of Ballarat staff on Monday morning along Raglan Street to assess and ultimately move and remove a number of trees.
Electrical distribution businesses, such as Powercor, are responsible for clearing vegetation growing too close to powerlines under the Electricity Safety Act 1998.
A Powercor spokesperson said the company will work with the council to ensure a similar incident doesn't take place.
"Powercor's vegetation management team met with City of Ballarat officers on site on Monday," a Powercor spokesperson said.
"It was determined that 4 trees should be removed and 15 would need to be replanted further away from overhead lines.
"We are now working with the City of Ballarat to review the list of trees they use for planting near powerlines considering the City's knowledge & experience of tree hardiness, growth rates, resistance to pests & disease and life span in the Ballarat environment, balanced with the need keep vegetation well away from electrical assets.
"We thank the City of Ballarat for their cooperation and we look forward to continuing to work with the council to help keep the network safe."
A number of the trees planted last week were banksia integrifolia, which are projected to grow between 10 and 20 metres tall once mature, far taller than the powerlines.
While there are no set guidelines surrounding what sort of trees can be planted underneath powerlines, Energysafe Victoria recommends planting low-growing species and urges those planting trees underneath powerlines to contact the "electricity distribution company for a list of suitable species for your area."
The City of Ballarat were approached for comment on the removal and replanting of the trees, but failed to respond by the time of publication.
The exact number of trees planted along Raglan Street still remains unknown.
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