Important safety work on the trees at Woodhill Sands.

For some time we have been concerned about the condition of some of the trees at the venue.  While we understand riders love the shade they provide in summer and that the poplars provide a park like atmosphere at the venue, many of the trees were overgrown and had not had preventative trimming maintenance.  The trees were well overdue for maintenance work and there were a lot of trees with large overhanging branches and a few that were in very poor health. This has resulted in some of the trees having diseased limbs, while other trees had become susceptible to having branches crack.  A risk assessment was carried out by a qualified arborist, who identified the immediate trees of concern.  With the support of Show Jumping Waitemata and the sponsorship of Jane Burmester of Burmester Realty and the partial sponsorship of Nick Skeates at Skeates Tree Contractors, remedial safety action was able to be undertaken to address this hazard.  It's vital this work was done to keep everyone safe and the poplars will quickly sprout and leaf up again to provide shade.