Forum keeps mayor grounded | Canterbury News | Local News in Canterbury

Mayor Garry Moore might have retained the Christchurch mayoralty with the same ease Joe Rokocoko scores tries.

But he is still retaining the common touch each week in Cathedral Square.

Last Friday, the Christchurch Star found a tieless Moore sitting on a park bench near the visitor information centre talking to anyone who wanted to bend his ear.

He has been doing it for five years and regardless of his overwhelming victory in last month's local body elections, hearing the man and woman on the street is important.

When the Star turned up, Moore was fielding questions from a group of St Albans residents worried that they were going to lose six trees from their neighbourhood.

The trees, which are on the old Orion site bordering Packe St, may be cut down to make way for development.

In a bid to save the trees, some residents went to the Square to try and get Moore's help. The city council has a substantial share in Orion.

The residents presented Moore with a series of submissions from residents living in Packe and Canon St, asking for him to take responsibility for the safety of the trees.

Moore expressed his support for the residents but said he was unable to dictate the direction of the development by himself.

"I've been fighting for this site to the best of my ability but there's a whole series of things that make it difficult," Moore told the residents.

He listened to the residents and answered their questions for over half an hour.

"This is good. This is making me accountable at a very local level," he said.

Moore said he thought the trees were protected and the council had made a mistake by leaving the trees on their system as protected when the application for protection had never proceeded.

He criticised the council's law regarding protected trees, saying it was "gutless" and that the fines for damaging protected trees should be more substantial.

"I have absolute sympathy for what the community are saying and I feel completely frustrated that it's (Orion) a company owned by the council but they run their own affairs," he said.

Moore said that if the decision was in his hands then he would develop around the trees.

"I believe the developers should know that it is an important thing for the community and should be listening to what the local community is saying.

"Responsible developers develop around old trees," he said.

Moore agreed to set up a meeting between the residents, local community board members, Orion and the developers to discuss the sites future.

The residents listened to Moore's response to their questions and were happy with the effort and response they received.

St Albans Residents' Association spokeswoman Douceline Wardle said the residents were feeling more optimistic after talking with Moore and were looking forward to meeting and talking with the developer.

"We realise that the matter is out of the council's hands at this stage but we hope with a little bit of discussion will help us working towards an outcome that we are all happy with," she said.