Waverley Council votes to cut down tuckeroo trees on multimillion-dollar street blocking Sydney Opera House views

Residents of one of Sydney’s plushest streets have banded together to cull a stretch of trees blocking their views of the Harbour and Opera House.

In a petition to Waverley Council, which takes in Sydney’s iconic beachside suburbs including Bondi and Bronte, homeowners along Myuna Rd in Dover Heights said a line of tuckeroo trees planted on their street had grown to block off their “iconic views”.

“Before the tuckeroos were planted, the existing street trees were 3m or less than in height and did not block iconic views between 1 and 23 Myuna Road,” the petition states.

“Council planted new tuckeroo trees over 10 years ago and these trees have grown to heights ranging from 4-8m tall and the foliage has completely blocked the pre existing iconic views from 1-23 Myuna Road.

“Residents have photographic proof of their pre-existing views before the tuckeroo trees were planted.

“Under the current Waverley Council tree policy, the tuckeroo trees would not be allowed to be planted in this location.

“Council trimmed the tuckeroo trees to remedy the situation, but the trimming was on the sides, not in the height and the trimming did nothing to restore the pre existing iconic views.”

The petition garnered 21 signatories who requested council to “remedy the situation” by removing the trees and replacing them with native grevillea trees that would not grow beyond 3m in height.

Last month, in a near unanimous decision, councillors backed the petition and voted to cut down the trees.

“Council resolved near unanimously to remove the tuckeroo trees and replace them with suitable vegetation that will not grow beyond 2.5m in height,” a council spokesman told NewsWire.

“This work will be undertaken in coming months. Achieving the right balance between ecological protection and the preservation of the area’s visual and natural qualities remains an important and ongoing objective of council.”

Greens councillor Ludovico Fabiano, who represents the council’s Waverley Ward, voted against the cull.

“Look at today, it’s going to be a very hot day today,” he told NewsWire on Wednesday.

“We need trees to create shade and to protect, to avoid the heat setting in on the cement path.

“By removing the trees, we have failed in our duty to protect the local fauna, the birds.

“People seem to be more interested in views. On public streets, people have views all around them and so why do you want to cut the trees?”

But Mr Fabiano accepted his view didn’t have “the numbers”.

“People favour views more than protecting the environment,” he said.

“But that’s democracy at play … we didn’t have the numbers in council to have a different perspective.”

The vote was brought forward on a motion from Liberal councillor Dov Frazer.

Dover Heights is a prime beachside suburb in eastern Sydney, with houses regularly fetching multimillion-dollar price tags.

The four-bedroom 6 Myuna Rd property was sold for $7.525m in September 4, 2023, while the four-bed 14 Myuna Rd house was sold for an estimated $6.6m in November 23, 2024, according to Domain.