A Tauranga motel owner is horrified at being served a warrant for entry after she chopped off a branch of a Tauranga City Council protected tree rooted firmly on her property.

Thirteenth Avenue Redwood Motel manager Catherine Thompson cut a small branch off a Camphor Laurel tree on her Fraser Street property due to fears the branch was endangering her family and business.

Margaret Buchanan, 79, and Catherine Thompson with the tree cuttings.

'I removed a branch two weeks ago because it was banging against the house and had become tangled in the wires,” says Catherine.

The day after, on September 16, council officials arrived at the property, accusing Catherine of breaching the Resource Management Act and served her a warrant for entry – to be carried out today.

Catherine was informed she had breached section 9 of the RMA and rule 6B of the Operative Tauranga City Plan by removing the branch of one of 399 ‘Notable Trees' in Tauranga.

But Catherine claims she did not know the tree was protected.

The tree was made one of Tauranga City's 339 individually Notable Trees in 2001 – 10 years after Catherine's family purchased the motel, she says.

'Council made it notable, which is just ludicrous. It's the equivalent of a gigantic ragwort.

'I refused to give them the limb and asked them to leave politely. I just don't think they can make a ruling on a whim and then force people to agree they are right.”

Catherine received an email from TCC today informing her a council arborist will visit the motel at 1.30pm today to remove the cut-offs and assess if further work is needed to 'maintain the vitality and shape of the tree”.

Catherine is horrified at the accusations, and cannot understand how trimming a tree she believes was endangering her family, on her own property, is illegal.

'How can they tell me I've committed a crime when it is on my own property?”

TCC's website states if a tree appears in the Notable Tree register then it is protected. Most activities in relation to removal, modification to, or works beneath the drip line, of a protected tree will require resource consent approval – which Catherine did not apply for.

Tauranga City Council is refusing to comment on the dispute saying investigations are still on-going.

The Camphor Laurel tree, or Cinnamomum camphora, is a large Chinese evergreen tree, which grows 20-30 metres tall. The leaves have a glossy, waxy appearance and smell of camphor when crushed. In spring it produces bright green foliage with masses of small white flowers.