Above:  Jo Stone wants to stop the road works. Below: The proposed link road route.
Camera IconAbove: Jo Stone wants to stop the road works. Below: The proposed link road route. Credit: Supplied/Emma Geary

Ferndale resident angry over Southern Link Rd plan

Emma GearyCanning Gazette

Mrs Stone said the site near Grose Avenue and Lake Street in Cannington contained a large variety of flora and fauna, including rare plants and reptiles, birds, amphibians and mammals.

At last week’s City of Canning ordinary council meeting, councillors voted to support the Canning City Centre |Regeneration Program which includes plans to build the road over land in the southeast corner of the site.

Mrs Stone said a large portion of the site was classified as a threatened ecological community (TEC) under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) and as such was of national environmental significance.

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She said while the proposed road covered a small portion of the TEC, the impacts of road construction work and nearby high-rise would have a negative effect on the area.

“It is not acceptable to go into any portion of the TEC,” she said.

“It is a plant community that is like no other in the metropolitan area.”

Mrs Stone said the TEC contained 111 flora species, including the threatened plant called eremophila gladbra, as well as temporary fresh water pools that appeared in late spring in which rare aquatic plants grew.

Mayor Paul Ng said the proposed road was in the Canning City Centre Structure Plan and would accommodate the expected growth in traffic associated with the redevelopment of the City centre.

He said initial investigations of the TEC area in relation to the road proposal had shown minimal impact on its southeast boundary.

“If approved the City expects there will be buffer zones and fencing required at the areas that impact on to the TEC, as well as the need for some remediation in degraded areas adjacent to the TEC area,” he said.

Mayor Ng said construction of the road would be subject to approval by the Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPAW) and could be referred to the Environment Protection Authority at a State and Federal level as a condition of approval by DPAW.

He said the City was committed to the preservation of the TEC.

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