Trees being removed in the Ashburton Domain are part of a planned upgrade of the kiosk.
Members of the community were alarmed to see the trees being removed but it is part of some domain upgrade work the Ashburton District Council announced in January.
Contractors are working to upgrade services to the kiosk in the picnic ground off Grigg Street which council infrastructure and open spaces group manager, Neil McCann, said was part of long-term planning for the domain.
“The kiosk is regularly booked by people or businesses hosting outdoor functions in the picnic ground area and this is a good opportunity to upgrade services to it.”
The available-for-hire kiosk has running water, electricity, a Zip water heater and facilities to wash dishes and prepare food.
The kiosk building will be improved or rebuilt over time as part of the long-term Ashburton Domain Development Plan.
Council’s open spaces staff are overseeing the current upgrade work, which involves contractors digging a trench alongside the sealed path for a new services pipeline that runs east from the corner of Grigg and Elizabeth streets.
On the southern side of the sealed path some ash trees, of varying sizes, shapes and quality, have been removed but will be replaced as the area is refurbished over time.
Strawberry trees under the big cedars have also been removed because they were all intertwined and overgrown, and once the services have been dug in, a new hedging shrubbery will be planted there.

• By Jonathan Leask