Dubbo Regional Council planting new trees in the CBD

Dubbo Regional Council has received $440,000 from the federal government which will be used to install tree pits and plant trees.

There will be seven trees planted in Talbragar Street, 15 trees in Wingewarra Street and 15 trees in Bultje Street.

When mature, council estimates the trees will provide an additional 3500 squared metres of shade.

The plan was recently placed on public exhibition where concerns were raised about foreign species of trees being used.

ALSO MAKING NEWS:

Based on the feedback, four trees in Talbragar Street and five in Wingewarra Street have been changed to an endemic species commonly known as rough barked apple.

Councillor John Ryan said trees were often an issue that stirred emotion in the community.

He said there had been a lot of discussion about whether gum trees could be planted but "they're not appropriate trees for all sorts of reasons to have as street trees".

"What we need in a hot place like Dubbo are trees that are not only ornamental and make you feel better about the place but ones that also provide shade and the least disruption to the services that run under the ground," Cr Ryan said.

The councillor said in recent storms, gum trees that looked like they would survive "the next 500 years" had fallen over.

"Out around Stuart Town they estimate they lost about 25 per cent of their old gum trees that had been there for about three generations. They just fell over in the last year or so," Cr Ryan said.

Cr Shields said in the coming years he was keen to find even more

"The reality is, with Dubbo's long hot summers, the radiant heat coming off a lot of our pavement and bitumen it becomes very hot in our CBD. The more we can put up the better," the mayor said.

"I'm really pleased we can get on with the job in Wingewarra and Talbragar streets, it will become aesthetically a lot better down there. In my mind this is the start of a very long process of greening up our city even more."

In February, Cr Shields asked the council staff to look into the possibility of planting more trees through the main thoroughfare of Dubbo.

The goal is to provide more shade for pedestrians and reduce extreme summer temperatures caused by the asphalt heat absorption.