A large Indian laurel that has been growing in Par-la-Ville car park for at least three decades was lifted out of the ground last night to be moved to a new home on Front Street.

It is to be replanted next to the horse and buggy canopy near Number One car park, where it will provide shade for pedestrians.

The Corporation plan to place benches under its wide branches so people can also sit down next to it, and enjoy the shade and the view.

The unusual relocation operation, which got under way just after 5pm, required 12 men — six from the Corporation of Hamilton and another six from Island Construction — along with a 60-tonne mobile crane, which is the largest crane that can be moved on Bermuda’s roads, and a backhoe excavator from the construction company.

The Corporation’s high lift, a Bobcat and a mini excavator rounded out the heavy equipment. There were also trucks and vans on the site.

At 8pm, the soil and rock dug away from the roots, the trunk was wrapped in carpet and slung with straps.

Overseen by Parks Superintendant Steven DeSilva, it was pulled free by the excavator then lifted out of the ground by the crane. A Corporation official on site explained that if the bark was too badly damaged it could kill a tree — the reason the trunk was protected during the operation.

City engineer Patrick Outerbridge explained that the tree which had been growing next to the canopy for horses and buggies on Front Street had been blown down during Hurricane Gonzalo.

“So we’re replacing it,” he said. “It’s such a visible site — it needs a large tree. This one has a straight trunk and is nice and high — it will look the part from day one.”

Indian laurels produce a large number of seeds, spread swiftly and will grow in many conditions, including in cracks in walls and roofs.