Council
7 January, 2026
Running repairs far from adequate: park users
Running repairs have been made to temporary mesh fencing around a hazardous tree in Moss Vale’s popular off-leash dog park
Running repairs have been made to temporary mesh fencing around a hazardous tree in Moss Vale’s popular off-leash dog park – but park users say Wingecarribee Shire Council’s response has been far from adequate.
The mesh fencing had almost totally collapsed when The Southern Wire inspected the tree last Thursday – exposing members of the public and their animals to the risk from falling branches.
A local resident contacted council’s emergency number on Sunday morning after spotting two children and three dogs inside the exclusion zone around the tree.
The operator said she would get someone to address the problem “straight away”.
The resident contacted The Southern Wire just after 1.30pm today (Tuesday) – more than two days after the call was made pointing out the obvious danger – to advise the fence had been repaired.
“What they have done is put in an uncapped metal star post on each side and tied the temporary fence to it,” he said, exposing children in particular to another risk.
As already reported by The Southern Wire, concerns have been raised about the safety of people using the popular off-leash dog park because of the condition of a tree near the park’s Lovelle Street entrance.
The tree has lost a number of branches and major cracks have started to appear in others.
An independent arborist has said the tree is an “extreme danger” in a public place and has suggested council’s best course of action is to remove the damaged tree and at least one other.
He said there were too many trees in the stand near the park’s Lovelle Street entrance, root growth would have been restricted and there was a danger that entire trees could come down in high winds.
Council has posted a notice at the park advising that the tree won’t be removed and that it needs to be retained “for the long-term health and stability of the entire stand”.
It says the tree acts as a windbreak to the other trees in the stand in south-westerly winds and is critical to their long-term viability.
One park user said the trees run from North to South (not from West to East) and the tree in question would therefore do nothing to protect other trees in the stand from South Westerly winds.
According to the notice at the park, dated December 8, council will mulch the area around the tree “to reduce soil compaction and support the tree’s health”.
It says council’s tree management team will continue ongoing monitoring of all trees within Seymour Park and throughout the shire, “undertaking and necessary aboricultural maintenance as required”.
The Southern Wire has been told that sticks and branches continue to fall out of the canopy in question.
Read More: Southern Highlands, Moss Vale