CLAREMONT Council has supported a new path and boat ramp at Christ Church Grammar School, on the condition the builders save two “magnificent” old tuart trees.
CCGS proposed construction of a new ramp down the Freshwater Bay escarpment to a set-down area on land owned by Methodist Ladies College, a new path east towards the boat shed, and reconstruction of the boat ramp.
The works would allow rowing boats up to 17m long to be safely transported from the school to the foreshore by students as well as upgrade the unsafe and eroded boat ramp.
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READ NOWAt a meeting held this week, Claremont Council moved to advise the WA Planning Commission it supported the Queenslea Drive works with the condition the path was moved slightly in order to save two tuart trees.
Mayor Jock Barker said the decision, recommended by the Foreshore Advisory Committee, was a “logical and a fair determination in the interests of preserving the river bank”.
“If those trees were taken out in accordance with the original Christ Church plan, the whole embankment … risks collapsing,” he said.
“I don’t believe Christ Church Grammar School, their parents or their children, would want to see that happen.
“We all felt that if Christ Church were prepared to move that path 1m or so, that would eliminate the need to remove two beautiful tuart trees.”