The name of a company allegedly responsible for the unlawful felling of indigenous trees in Randburg recently, so as to give better sight to billboards located on the busy Hans Strijdom thoroughfare, has been confirmed to eMedia by Johannesburg City Parks (JCP) and industry body Out of Home Media SA (Ohmsa). The alleged perpetrator trades under the name Outdoor Co (Pty) Ltd, and is based in Durban.
Howard Nel, company secretary and legal counsel for JCP, has told eMedia that Outdoor Co ‘is a name that has been given to the police.” Although Nel will not confirm whether he views the operation as the sole party responsible, he says: ‘As far as I’m concerned, there were R500,000 worth of trees cut down.”
Les Holley, chairman of Ohmsa, contends that Outdoor Co ‘commissioned a company called Abacus Landscape Gardening to do the deed.” He adds: ‘To our knowledge, there have been formal complaints laid at the Linden Police Station.”
While Holley states he is ‘aware of the claim that 68 trees were cut down,” he likewise will not comment on whether Ohmsa views Outdoor Co as the sole offending party.
James Morgan, who heads up Outdoor Co, has told eMedia: ‘We cut two trees down, but those trees were on [Randburg-based training institution] Damelin’s property. We had a condition that in return we supply [Damelin with] 15 indigenous trees and a landscaper, which we did.”
Morgan has forwarded a copy of the agreement struck with Damelin to eMedia. Signed by Damelin Randburg’s campus general manager Debbie Law, it states: ‘I hereby confirm that in July 2005 we granted you permission to cut down two trees on Hans Strijdom Drive, within Damelin Randburg’s property.
‘In return you have committed to replace these with 15 trees of our choice and a landscaper who will assist us — at your cost.”
Law has confirmed that she was the author of the agreement and that Outdoor Co have since complied with the conditions.
Nel and Holley, however, contend that the felled trees were outside of Damelin’s property. ‘This has nothing to do with Damelin, it is a council issue,” says Holley. Nel adds: ‘If it’s public trees, who is Damelin to give authority?”
Expanding on the industry body’s general position on destruction of the environment by outdoor companies, Holley asserts: ‘Ohmsa’s view is that we don’t condone this in any manner whatsoever. That is why we have made a donation of R10,000 worth of indigenous trees to City Parks.”
But, while Outdoor Co is not an Ohmsa member, the position of JCP on the matter is clear. ‘Unfortunately, it has tainted the image of billboards,” says Nel.
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