Retirement is a time to relax and enjoy the fruits of one's labour.

Yet, for one retiree, his recent predicament became the foundation of a battleground against his local council.

The reason? He encountered a mishap that could derail his retirement plans.

Sydney local Darryl Brown experienced a rude awakening in his supposed golden years.

A storm occurred in his area during the holiday season, which wreaked havoc across the region.

However, for the 68-year-old retiree, the incident was a painful plight.

The fallen tree crushed Darryl Brown's car after falling. Image Credit: Facebook/A Current Affair

A large gum tree came crashing down on the 68-year-old man's car during the storm.

Darryl shared his frustration, as the wrecked car could turn into a 'costly write-off'.

The tree, however, was deemed healthy by his local council.

This was not the first time Darryl had experienced this.

He shared that the same predicament happened to him back in 2015.

'It hurts a bit,' he said, especially after alerting the council about the tree's potential danger twice.

However, the council took a look at the property where the tree stood and was assessed as a 'low-risk' tree.

Mature Kaffir Plum and gum trees seen in public spaces have been a longstanding concern.

As Darryl discussed the situation with the council and his insurer, it sparked a broader conversation among residents about the local flora.

In response to these worries, the Inner West Council announced an audit of all trees within the vicinity.

'We will also be inspecting all of the trees in Rangers Rd at a time that suits Mr Brown so he can point out any particular areas of concern,' the council stated.

Last year, a similar incident happened at a park in Leichhardt.

Councillor Philippa Scott assured residents that their 'tree team is attentive to tree health'.

'They are trimmed and checked regularly, and residents also report unhealthy trees to us,' Councillor Scott added.

Darryl's case was a stark reminder of the unexpected challenges that can arise in retirement, mainly when dealing with property and local governance.

As the council undertakes a comprehensive tree audit across the Local Government Area (LGA), residents continue to wonder if councils are doing enough work to prevent such incidents from recurring.

Key Takeaways

• A Sydney resident found himself in a conflict after a 'healthy' gum tree fell and damaged his car.
• The incident occurred after a severe storm hit Sydney's Inner West, which led to fallen trees and power lines.
• The retiree demanded the council to take responsibility for the damage, as he had previously reported concerns about the tree's stability.
• In response to the incident and several resident complaints, the Inner West council scheduled a tree audit and talked to the retiree's insurer about the claim.

Have you faced similar issues in your community? How did you navigate the situation, and what advice would you give to fellow retirees facing such predicaments? Share your experiences and insights in the comments section below.

 

[Luckyus]

When we bought our place there was a gum in the far corner, now these bloody things have a habit of falling over with the possibility of taking out four fences so down she came with my trusty Stihl.

 

[StarTrekker]

This recently happened to a family's home in Melbourne.

 

[Gunpark]

I agree, gum trees are not called "widow makers" for fun, they can drop branches or fall over at anytime.

 

[Kman]

Remember the huge river red gum that got enclosed by the Burnside (SA) council. It started dropping branches, so they cut it down. It was classed as a significant tree. Council should have been prosecuted, but they blamed someone else.

Just another council trying to get out of paying up. They were warned.

 

[darrellh]

The so called experts clearly got it wrong and should cover all costs in these sorts of situations.

 

[Towing]

I know somebody who lives near a school crossing with a dangerous tree in front of her place. She apporached the council several times and the council did nothing re removing it. It is easily lost branches and them hit a person, vehicle or both. Had it fallen towards the house it would have caused injury to the people living their, their business vehicle, other vehicle or garage with very expensive work equipment in it.
The council was threatened with being sued if it fell. Part of the trunk was actually almost completely hollow.

 

[SGH]

We were living in a married quarter with a very large gum down in the back corner of the yard was hit by lightning during an aggressive storm. The tree split down the middle, one half still standing the other half hanging over the fence into the neighbours yard next door. I rang Defence Housing to report it and was told it would take two to three weeks to get someone out to fix it.
I said that's fine by us, however, in the house next door there are four little children and there maybe a safety issue there. The tree guys turned up in less than 48 hours and cut down the entire tree.

 

[Catherines]

I cannot talk for other council or state regulations at this point but the car in the picture seems to be on the footpath section of the property’s driveway. I believe some councils can also fine you for parking on the council owned section of your driveway - ‘obstruction of a pedestrian walkway’. If the car was parked inside the boundary of the property the owner MAY have been able to make a claim on the council when that tree fell.

Although we are responsible for maintenance of the footpath grassed area IT IS NOT OUR PROPERTY so anything that happens on that council area is their responsibility but not in this event of a car parked (possibly against council rules) on the driveway section of the footpath.

 

[Veggiepatch]

Councils have not learnt from when Gordon Timbs of South Nowra was killed by a fallen eucalypt in 1998 and subsequently paid nearly $750000 to Gordon's family. I knew the family.

Tree killed man after council blocked removal, court told

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