Sergeant Cameron Ross said the large pines were leaning and posed a safety risk.

He said the ground in which the trees were located was soft because it was below the station’s upper level car park and got a lot of water run off.

The trees were leaning and their height meant they could fall either on the police station and law courts or the commercial buildings to the east, Sergeant Ross said.

The large height of the trees meant they would be removed in stages, he said.

“We have got approval to do it,” Sergeant Ross said.

Warrnambool Cr Peter Hulin last week raised concerns the trees might have heritage protection.

However Warrnambool City Council said there was no heritage overlay on the Koroit Street police station and so no planning permit requirement was required to remove or lop the trees.

A council spokesperson said the original permit for the development of the new Warrnambool police station in 1996 required the trees to be retained through “an endorsed plan and a permit condition which states that the trees must not be removed, destroyed or lopped without the written consent of the responsible authority.”  

“In 2010 Victoria Police wrote to council requesting permission to have the trees removed,” the council spokesperson said.

“This was because the trees were impacting on the structural integrity of the police station and had contributed to flooding of the station's lower ground floor.

“The advice from council to the police was that a planning permit was not required because of the problems identified by the police and that council did not object to the removal of the trees.” 

Warrnambool Historical Society president Glenys Phillpot said “it was a pity to lose any of the tree canopy” in the city centre.

But, she said, if the two Norfolk Island pines posed a safety hazard, she could understand why they were being removed.