SocietySydney gardener fined nearly $200,000 over felling of 287 trees for mansion views

A Sydney gardener has been fined $187,500 for helping organise and carry out the unlawful removal of 287 trees. The trees were cut down in late 2023 from protected, council-owned foreshore bushland at Woodford Bay in Longueville. The local council called the episode the worst act of environmental vandalism in Lane Cove’s history. What began as a job trimming grass at a harbourside mansion escalated into payments being left in a shoe to arrange the destruction, reportedly to improve the property’s water views.

Sydneyillegal tree fellingenvironmental vandalism

TThe Guardian★★☆☆☆2026-08-09 05:35Original