CFA facelift axes trees

By Casey Neill
BELGRAVE Heights fire station will receive a much needed facelift after the Shire of Yarra Ranges approved plans for the removal of 10 trees and the pruning of another.
Additions to the existing fire station will be made on vacant land to the rear of the Zig Zag Road site which is owned by the CFA.
Lexter Mann, CFA general manager of the Yarra region, spoke on behalf of the brigade at the council’s 22 April meeting.
He said the safety of volunteers was a major reason for enhancements to the existing station, which was built in 1976 and was last updated in 1995.
“It’s a relatively small site and we’re doing the best we can with the space we’ve got,” he said.
The redevelopment will include the addition of an extra vehicle bay to house a new vehicle bought with funds raised by the community.
The upgrade will also provide a new workshop and store, male, female and disabled toilets and a brigade office and includes a new driveway.
Mr Mann said the upgrade would mean better facilities for the community.
Councillor Samantha Dunn said the CFA had ‘worked really hard’ on the proposal.
“Unfortunately, it will include the removal of two significant trees on the landscape but it will be a positive step forward for the community,” she said.
In relation to recent media reports, Cr Dunn was adamant that one tree was never going to stop the fire station from being approved.
“I’d like to set the record straight, the new station was never in jeopardy,” she said.
“The shire was glad to do as much as possible to retain important trees in the shire and it’s very hard to take speculation that the fire station was in jeopardy.”
Cr Dunn met with objectors to the proposal the previous week to discuss issues with the fire siren going off at all hours.
An agreement was reached that the siren would not be used after 6.30pm and before 7am.
“We immediately placed it on a timer,” Mr Mann said.
He said that throughout the process the CFA worked with council officers on points of difference and changed concepts in light of the constraints on the particular site.
He thanked the council for “their tenacity and professionalism” and said the CFA would minimise vegetation loss on the site.
The brigade must provide the council with an off set plan for the planting of 65 new indigenous trees prior to any vegetation removal.