A number of trees, including two very large figs, are going to be destroyed if a proposed child care centre in the car park near Ballina Central shopping centre goes ahead.
If successful, the green area beside Bangalow Road (near McDonalds and the electric vehicle charging area), a number of other trees and part of the existing car park will be replaced by a $5 million, two storey child care centre, designed to accommodate 85 children and 15 staff from 7am-7pm Monday to Friday.
Development application 2023/52 has attracted a furious and largely negative response on Ballina Shire Council’s DA tracker site and on social media. After less than a month, the advertising/public notification period ended yesterday.
Official submissions to Ballina Council
Brett Stephenson wrote, ‘Such a shame to lose those trees. The whole block is almost all concrete except for that small area. Seeing as how the development “floats” over the land and has parking underneath why can’t it be built over an existing block of parking spaces?’
Trudi O’Neill wrote, ‘This is a terribly busy area with a major road on one side and the idea of putting a childcare centre so close to all these cars is a nightmare waiting to happen. Not only is it not safe but it’s already so congested. Crazy idea.’
Another objection came from local Julie Stephan: ‘Central Ballina is in need of more trees to provide shade, amenity, food and shelter for native fauna, and noise mitigation. The loss of these trees cannot be mitigated by new plantings which will take ten to fifty years to reach full height.’
Nick Firth wrote, ‘I would like to express my concerns about the removal of the pocket of vegetation on this site anchored by the two mature fig trees which were saved during the construction of the original shopping centre and are over 30 years old…
‘They provide habitat and shelter to nocturnal wildlife on the shopping centre side of Bangalow Road and a place to take refuge when they are trying to cross Bangalow Road to the other side where there are more mature figs.
‘There are no other mature trees with this amount of dense protective foliage on the shopping centre side of Bangalow Road in this location,’ wrote Mr Firth.
‘These majestic figs take up only a small area yet have a significant role to play environmentally and also to the cultural and historic significance to Ballina and the overall beauty of this area. The shopping centre site does not have any other mature trees and would be a concrete eyesore without them.
‘Just because these trees are on a site that is zoned commercial does not diminish their importance or hasten the need for their removal. You cannot substitute mature figs with freshly planted gardens on the same site and expect that to be adequate. It is not.’
Aiden Plummer wrote, ‘I have lived in Ballina for 21 years and do not wish for these trees to be removed. A lifestyle surrounded by nature is why people are drawn to Ballina in the first place.
‘I do not believe that the needs of a developer are stronger than the needs of the every day residents who also have passed by these trees for the last few decades.’
Andrea Lems wrote, ‘I wish to lodge my OBJECTION to the child care centre being built at Ballina Central. Especially the removal of the two figs trees which were saved from being cut down in the past.
‘Council seem to have a real problem with retaining older trees for the simple fact that they are deemed “in the way” of a concrete construction! We have MORE than enough concrete in this town.’
Dangerous?
In her submission to Ballina Council, Ms Lems also said it was dangerous to put a childcare centre in the middle of ‘an incredibly busy car park’ at Ballina Central.
‘Surely there are plenty of other places in the Ballina Shire that this can be built if it is needed for families in the local area. A double-story eyesore, in the limited space in that carpark, while removing two old trees that have NOTHING wrong with them, with the constant exhaust fumes for children, just makes the mind boggle!
‘This should never be allowed here at Ballina Central,’ she said.
Carl Taylor said that when Ballina Central was originally given permission to develop the site, it was on the condition that the two mature figs be retained.
‘For a council that prides itself on retaining mature trees, I am surprised that the removal of these figs could even be considered,’ he wrote. ‘These trees must be over 100 years old and could easily be included in the development as part of the playgrounds if the building itself was moved further north or south of them.
‘Replanting by the developer won’t compensate for such mature trees and the fauna that call them home. I’m not against a child care centre being built, but the trees should be retained,’ said Mr Taylor.
Wrong place?
Cynthia Moncrieff said, ‘I cannot think of a more inappropriate location on the busy intersection of Ballina’s two main entry roads.’
Lakota Perry wrote, ‘The site is highly unsuitable for the proposed purposes and should be retained as a small, but significant natural landscape remnant.’
Local business owner Kallum Fidoe made the only public submission in support of the DA, saying, ‘Ballina is a growing region with more homes and families on the way. The council needs to begin planing for this up tick in population with infrastructure and services… Fingers crossed it is approved.’
When The Echo visited the site affected by the DA this week, large numbers of birds were taking full advantage of the big figs.
Local man Barry Till was also checking out the site. He said he would be really sad to see the trees go. ‘They’re over a hundred years old and they’re a great asset to the area. Such beautiful trees.’
A photo gallery of the affected area, from the ground and air, can be seen below. There will be more coverage of this issue from The Echo as this DA makes its way through Ballina Council.
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great. then the kids can sit in the car park and play with dust and trash. what a world for them.
I appreciate the Echo drawing attention to this, but it’s a little weird publicising it one day after the public comment period closes.
The paper is irrelevant out of touch with issues or maybe the shopping centre is a key advertiser
These trees are Ficus Benjamina and are native to Australia. Their fruits are a food source for many native animals. Any replacement will take at least 30 years to provide the same level of shade. Wake up Ballina council and protect the trees.
Appear to be Ficus microcarpa var. hilli (Hill’s small-fruited fig) not F. benjamina (Weeping Fig).
Neither are local endemic species, both only naturally occurring in far north Queensland & near-coastal NT. In NE NSW & SEQ they both have become environmental weeds. Their presence is a historical legacy from lesser informed times, but their massive fruiting pulses 3-4 times per year do serve as a key source of food for dozens of fruit-dependent bird species, & supplementary flying fox food. Plus their shade & aesthetic values.
Not advocating their removal, just correcting & informing. There are 4-6 species of locally occurring large figs that can & should be planted.
Hill’s small-fruited fig is an inappropriate species for urban areas due to it’s susceptibility to fungus infection, & inability to withstand storms, becoming uprooted & causing huge amounts of damage – see Newcastle storms of about 2015, the aftermath of which lead to the wholesale removal of nearly all these trees in the city, particularly the picturesque avenues. Now also banned from being planted in Darwin following massive infrastructure damage by 1,000s of Hills small-fruited figs during Cyclone Marcus (only a Category 2).
Why haven’t I heard about this before the public comment period closes? I drive around here all the time and never saw the notice. Ditto for all the reasons NOT to build on this site. Who in their right mind would?
A childcare centre in this noisy polluted spot! What a joke. Don’t take away these precious trees that are home to birds and provide shade that this area badly needs! Hope common sense prevails.
Who in their right mind chooses these sites? Crusty the clown 🤡? What town planner would recommend a fertile lush green park, to be removed and replaced with a child centre? Anyone in this day and age, who sees the removal of ‘Established Parks and gardens’, as a good thing, is NOT ‘Thinking of the future nor of the Climate nor a Town Planner’. This Must not go through! Enough with the idiotic decision’s people. ENOUGH!
To remove these beautiful trees would be devistating for all of the local birds who already lost the trees on the southern side of the carpark near coles bottle shop. It is the only piece of shade in that whole area .Those big trees have a cooling effect & their carbon foot print is the only thing countreacting all the concrete , exhaust fumes & congestion. Climate change is real & we have a responsibility to protect our tree corridores big & small removing trees is wrong & a very dumb idea.
Joni Mitchell’s – Big Yellow Taxi says it all—
“You don’t know what you’re got till it’s gone”
Unfortunately town planners see money not people’s health and well being. A little tree does nothing for the environment and welfare of people and animals compared to something hundreds of years old. Your council is making a pretty town look like a city metropolis of bricks and cement! The heat effect will be outrageous.
Save our Tree’s 🐨
Save our Tree’s 🐨🐦🕊🦜🦜🐸🐌🌿🐛🌼🐝🕸🕷🐜🪲🐞🐞
This creepy lot of trees where the under age kids go drink. This is full of litter and not even close to a park at all. This area of Ballina needs change to be cleaned up badly
The only Big Old Thugs that need removing are the councillors themselves. They have a habit of doing this having come through Lennox recently and removing an original majestic Fig. This is the equivalent to people moving to the city for its cultural diversity, buying in and then complaining about the noise, for the scene to die. Don’t kill OUR green scene! Rather remove yourselves please!! You’ll probably end up leaving anyway with all your damage left beyond for everyone else to resent!