Villaricca's municipal council has voted to seek a review of the order to fell 122 pines along Corso Europa and to commission a new technical assessment of the trees.

The motion, presented by Nicola Campanile, calls on the Gaudieri administration to suspend and re-examine the felling order and to arrange a fresh expert evaluation. That evaluation would examine the trees individually for their health and safety status.

The vote followed about five hours of discussion and ended with seven abstentions and one vote against.

Background to the order

The case follows the fall of a pine and an earlier agronomic report that identified plant-health problems and issues affecting the root systems, including parasites and root suffocation.

A video account published on 2 November refers to municipal ordinance No. 43 of 28 October and reports that works were scheduled to begin on 9 November and finish by 9 December. The ordinance itself and the original agronomic report were not directly available in the research reviewed for this article.

The reported figure has varied between 120 and 122 pines in different sources. The number 122 is the figure used in the title of the Il Mattino report and in the description of the motion.

Calls for transparency

The planned felling has prompted a public request for greater transparency and care for the local tree heritage. The association Idee e Concretezza APS has asked for clarity, transparency and attention to the area in connection with the 122 pines.

What the motion asks for

According to the reports, the approved motion has two main elements:

  • Re-examination of the existing felling order for the pines on Corso Europa
  • A new technical assessment, carried out tree by tree, to verify the condition of each tree

The assessment would therefore determine the health and safety status of individual trees, rather than treating the row of pines as a single case.

What is still not confirmed

Several points remain unresolved:

  • The outcome of the new assessment is not yet documented, and it is not known which trees, if any, may be retained.
  • It is not verified whether approval of the motion has produced a legally binding suspension of the works or a political and administrative direction to the administration.
  • The full text of the municipal ordinance and the earlier agronomic assessment have not been directly examined.

The next step to watch is the commissioning and publication of the new tree-by-tree assessment, and any subsequent administrative decision on the felling order.