IPSWICH locals say they’ve been left blindsided and frustrated after Ipswich City Council rejected a bid to protect two mature native trees in Darcy Doyle Park, prompting fresh concerns about transparency and the city’s approach to green space.
The Ipswich Climate Action Group (ICAG) lodged a Vegetation Protection Order (VPO) application in September 2025 in an effort to safeguard the two 50-year-old trees, which they describe as the last large native canopy in central Ipswich.
After almost a year of waiting, the group was told the application could not be processed because the trees are part of a “current design process”, a justification ICAG says does not align with Council’s own policy.
ICAG member Robyn Whale said the decision has left locals questioning how significant trees can ever be protected if a design process can override community action.
“Council says the threat to these trees is the design work they’re already doing, but that’s exactly why we applied for protection,” she said. “It makes no sense. These trees should have received attention long before any threat emerged.”
Ms Whale said the trees are not only important for shade and amenity but serve as a major roosting site for thousands of lorikeets each afternoon.
She believes the reasons provided for their removal, leaf litter on a nearby roof and minor tile lifting, are easily manageable.
“An independent arborist told us these issues can be fixed. There’s no need to take the trees out,” she said.
Ms Whale, who has lived in the region for a decade, said she has watched vegetation disappear across Ipswich as development intensifies.
“Every time a new house goes up, 10 trees come down. Wildlife has nowhere left to go,” she said.
“If we can’t save two mature trees in the city centre, what hope do we have for all our other natural spaces?”
ICAG says community response has been overwhelmingly supportive, with locals expressing shock that the proposed removal was not widely known.
