A Duntroon dairy farming couple will remove a fence in front of a memorial oak dedicated to a North Otago soldier killed in World War 1, but feel they have been "picked on" by the Waitaki District Council.
Steve and Maylene Fenwick were given permission about two years by the council to put their boundary fence within 3m of the road on road reserve which effectively fenced off the memorial oak.
That led to complaints and the council threatening legal action.
However, Corriedale councillor Alistair Mavor and acting regulatory manager Paul Arnold met Mr and Mrs Fenwick, who have agreed to remove the fence, opening the oak up to public access.
Mrs Fenwick said that was "not a five-minute job" and they had asked for time to do the work.
She expected that could be done within "a couple of months" and certainly well before Anzac Day next year.
They had erected the fence according to the council's requirements and had thought they were doing the right thing by fencing off the oak to protect it.
They felt they were being singled out when other farmers had fenced off memorial oaks. She had found four around the Duntroon-Tokarahi area.
"That was one of the reasons we dug our toes in - we felt we were being picked on. If it is good enough for one, it is good enough for all," she said.
Cr Mavor said the memorial oak on the Fenwicks' property was not the only one in the district which had been fenced off. He had seen other examples.
On Tuesday, the council decided to initiate steps to ensure all memorial oaks that are fenced off are reopened to public access. The oaks were established as memorials to North Otago soldiers killed in World War 1.
They radiated out along major roads from an oak planted at the Junction in south Oamaru.
Many have disappeared over the years.
