Former Warrnambool councillor says the current council have ignored the city's Norfolk Island pines

"The way the trees are lifting footpaths and cracking fences, it's just not on," he said.

"You pretty much can't walk on the footpath, the shiny leaf has grown in so much."

Mr Hulin said in March a Timor Street resident received a letter from the council requiring him to cut back his hedges to avoid facing a fine.

At the time, these hedges were encroaching onto the footpath by 10 to 15 centimetres.

Mr Hulin said this was while the Norfolk Island pines along Timor Street were overhanging onto his property by six to eight metres.

Mr Hulin said the maintenance on the trees was "non-existent".

"Branches are hitting his garage at the back and there's crap from the fronds which'll be rusting out his roof," he said.

"Apparently this is OK. But if his hedges hang over by 10cms, he is prosecuted."

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Mr Hulin said while he understood why the resident was sent the letter, the council's maintenance of its trees was "not good enough".

"I think everybody has a responsibility to keep the vegetation within their boundary," he said.

"But if you've got council trees encroaching on your property by six to eight metres, what's their response? Why have they picked out this poor bloke while letting the trees get like this?"

A council spokesman said it was not uncommon for trees on public land to overhang on private property.

"In some situations there may be opportunities for residents to remove overhanging branches provided this is carried out in consultation with council," he said.

Mr Hulin said the pines had been neglected in recent years.

"Everybody suffers from it. This is the problem, it's not just a one-off, it's everywhere," he said.

Mr Hulin has met with Warrnambool City Council director David Leahy, former CEO Peter Schneider and former mayor Richard Ziegeler but was left unsatisfied with their responses.

"When you raise these important issues, you're basically branded as a troublemaker," he said.

The council spokesman said many of the Norfolk Island pines in Warrnambool's older streets were heritage protected.

"To prune Norfolk Island pines that are already clear of powerlines and do not present an immediate risk of personal damage or damage to property, a planning permit would be required," he said.

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