Lord Mayor and Councillors,

Your excellent resolution of December 14, 2010 to retain the Laman Street figs has come under attack in the guise of insurance risk.

Arborist reports and risk management associated with street trees are subjective, as a Dennis Marsden may report findings differently from a Mark Hartley and an ENSPEC may then need to charge in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to monitor.

But you have a free alternative: The empirical evidence proves that the Laman Street figs have withstood high winds over many years going back beyond the Pasha Bulker storm. Your resolution is designed to preserve and reinforce the stability of the trees, but I understand that the Working Party has not yet had the opportunity to complete its charge from your resolution, being diverted from tasks which would only reduce possible risks.

I have read various claims that the trees stand because they support each other, possibly true. But that is also how most buildings remain standing, the removal of a portion of wall at a corner can lead to a collapse. Yet we do not hear a cry from the insurance companies to pull down buildings for what might happen, or to prohibit cars on roads for what might happen, so why in particular the Laman Street figs?

Newcastle, or any jurisdiction for that matter, cannot allow an insurance risk adjuster to dictate the fate of the iconic elements of a city. The age of most icons automatically makes them mostly sub-standard in some form or other as measured by current standards, therefore being an insurance risk. Yet they are still insured and preserved. It takes a resolute commitment.

Please stand firm and allow your December resolution to be implemented fully, not derailed in haste by fear of what may never happen.

Sincerely,