A Greerton resident is disappointed a 52-year-old native Kauri tree on the property he grew up on has been cut down with the felled wood likely sold on Trade Me.

Noel Peterson woke up recently to find the 15 metre tall Kauri tree he planted with his parents in 1960 on the property he now lives next door to had been cut down with no warning.

Noel Peterson with a piece of the remaining Kauri tree.

'I grew up on the property where the tree was, my sister inherited that house when my mother passed away and sold the property which was then subdivided.”

'I live in the property next door and admired the tree every day from my kitchen window.”

Noel was seven-years-old when he planted the tree on the Pemberton Crescent property and is upset he was given no warning

'I'm quite disappointed with it all. Someone came past the other day and said ‘that tree is a landmark' and now it's gone.”

'It all comes down to Council changing the tree policy meaning people don't have to be notified when they chop down a tree.”

Tauranga City Council changed the protected tree list on July 27 this year, reducing the number of trees protected under council rules from 1879 to 339.

A TCC communications advisor Marcel Currin says unless the tree is protected under the City Plan the property owners can do what they like with the tree.

A full list of protected trees can be found here.

The Kauri tree that was planted in 1960 before it was cut down.

Noel says the property was previously purchased by Classic Builders, who built a new house on the property, and cut down a 52-year-old Rimu in the process, leaving the Kauri before on-selling the property.

'Now the property has been on-sold and the Kauri tree cut down which I thought was safe.”

Noel says the property was purchased a fortnight ago and he is unsure who the new home owners are as they are yet to move into the property.

Noel says there was no notification or warning the tree was going to be cut down.

'I got up and saw they had already cut it down no notification, the Rimu suffered the same fate.”

'I think it was a landmark tree and I would of liked to have seen it stay there for another 150 years, personally I feel a lifelong friend has been lost. I have no idea why they cut the tree down.”

The tree was removed by Tauranga Tree Services, who suggested to Noel's daughter that the wood may be sold on Trade Me.

Noel says he would have liked to have seen the wood donated to the Men's Shed in Historic Village.

'It seems it will just get flogged off on Trade Me.”

'It would have been good if the owners had donated the wood to the Men's Shed for wood turning, and there is still probably opportunity for them to do that, the wood would not have vanished into thin air, it was a truckload.”