Re: Application 159/2018/06P (CFA fire station and vegetation removal at 109-115A Yan Yean Road, Plenty)

We object to the loss of public open space and tree canopy, were this application to be approved.

This site on the north-east corner of Memorial Drive and Butlers Road, is a treed reserve next to a community hall which has heritage protection (HO248).  The treed reserve effectively provides a landscape context for the heritage hall and surrounds, and the vegetation which would be removed is a healthy stand of remnant eucalypts with both environmental and amenity value for anyone using the reserve for passive recreation.

While it’s obviously important for the CFA to have facilities which are fit-for-purpose for public safety reasons, significant public open space should not be sacrificed unless all other alternatives have been exhausted.  We wonder why the existing CFA station close by could not be updated/renovated to meet contemporary needs, or land purchased elsewhere that does not require the loss of public open space, tree canopy and amenity.

The potential further loss of remnant trees in this locality is particularly concerning given the wholesale tree destruction brought about by the current upgrade of Yan Yean Road nearby.

We hope the CFA can make alternative arrangements.