bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

A century-old banyan tree in Nathan Road, which is listed on the official valuable tree registry, has been removed after it was deemed to be a safety risk.
The removal, the eighth since the registry was set up in 2004, came as the government was still studying the feasibility of expanding the size of the beds in which the trees are planted to give them more space to grow.
The Chinese banyan was at the Park Lane Shopper's Boulevard, where 39 trees of various species and about the same age, line both sides of the southern end of Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui.
The 14-metre-high tree was cut down on  January 31 by staff from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) after routine maintenance indicated that its decaying trunk was in danger of collapsing.
Ken So Kwok-yin,  from the Conservancy Association and a member of an expert group responsible for preserving the valuable trees, said the tree could  have died from poorly planned pruning decades ago.
'The pruning of branches stretching out to the road could have left wounds that never healed and which affected the health of the tree,' he said, adding the tree's leaves were found to be dried out last August.
Mr So said most of the 39 trees in the same location had been pruned  in the past and at least two needed further attention, though they  posed no safety risk.
An  LCSD spokesman said trees were 'susceptible to damage from typhoons, rainstorms and diseases', and it was natural for a tree to die when it came to the end of its lifespan. But he said the department was studying ways to provide a better environment for the valuable trees along Nathan Road, such as expanding the size of their beds.
'The health of those trees are generally good at present and we will continue to give them care,' he said.
Last year, a major trunk of another century-old Chinese Banyan near the spectators' stand at a mini-soccer field in Kowloon Park suddenly collapsed. Experts believed the fall was related to the tree's decaying roots, which had been covered by concrete for a long time. The LCSD said metal props had been installed to stabilise the tree and measures taken to direct the aerial roots to the ground. 'We have noted significant growth in the aerial roots and there is no sign of further deterioration,' it said.
There are 527 old and valuable trees on the official registry, including the one just removed.



Century-old Chinese banyan tree cut down in Nathan Road over safety fears