The ACT government will not say whether investigators have visited the site of a tree in Manuka that is subject to an inquiry after residents noticed its leaves had started to deteriorate.
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Leaves on the London Plane tree on Franklin Street started to turn brown in January, when residents also noticed a trench near the tree's roots. The tree is at the centre of a long-running dispute over a development application to build a hotel on the site of the Capitol Theatre cinema complex.
Meantime, the family which wants to redevelop the site has lashed out at residents, accusing them of peddling a false narrative about the tree.
The tree appeared to be in good condition in November, when it was photographed by The Canberra Times, but its leaves started to brown before it was photographed again in January.
ACT Conservator of Flora and Fauna Ian Walker is reviewing the status of the tree, which, if it is removed from the tree protection register, would allow the hotel development to proceed.
Transport Canberra and City Services' tree protection unit is investigating the health of the tree, but a spokesman for the directorate could not say whether investigators had visited the site or how long the investigation would take.
The Environment, Planning and and Sustainable Development Directorate has so far declined to release submissions made to Mr Walker's review.
John Liangis, whose mother Sotiria Liangis has applied to redevelop the block, said trees deserved respect but this particular tree had been irresponsibly and negligently registered.
"Back in 2010, the tree was nominated by a superstar, self-proclaimed protector of Manuka and the inner south as a reaction to an impending development application for the site the tree has imposed itself on," Mr Liangis wrote in a letter to The Canberra Times.
"In the words from the office of the Conservator of Flora and Fauna: 'Although the tree does not meet the criteria for registration, we will argue for its inclusion'.
"They trotted out all the well-rehearsed, facile reasons to support the decision to register [the tree]. Reasons that would not stand up to scrutiny, for there was no recourse against the decision at the time."
In placing the tree on the register in 2012, then Conservator of Flora and Fauna Penny Farnsworth said the tree met registration criteria because of its prominence on Franklin Street and that it was an "exceptional quality tree".
Mr Liangis said residents who raised concerns about the health of the tree could have approached him for a site tour to see the true situation on the property.
"Our development application is a vast and thorough document that addresses every issue required by our planning laws," he said.
ACT Chief Planner Ben Ponton has approved the removal of the tree if Mr Walker strikes it from the tree protection register.
The decision was made despite advice from the interim National Capital Design Review Panel, which urged the authority not to approve the development application because it failed to meet architectural standards set by National Capital Authority rules.
