Comments made here were sent to Inner West Council. Add your own comment.
Absolutely shocking- what about the urban environment- this type of demolition causes more climate warming, increases the use of fossil fuels for heating and cooling; this should not be allowed, more needs to be done for the environment of the inner west with retaining current negation and careful planting of trees and other flora to make our LGA habitable for all current and future generations.
The application asks "Does the proposal impact Habitat?" and the answer given is a blunt assertion: "No". Matures trees provide valuable stepping stones for birds, linking nearby green corridors along the Cooks River and Wolli Creek. Tree cover also helps to mitigate the heat island effect, which is a growing issue in the Inner West given the effects of global warming and increasing building density near public transport hubs. This site is 170m from a train and light rail station at Dulwich Hill. I hope the Council takes these issues into consideration when making a decision.
I note the submission's comment to the effect that palms are not appropriate to the heritage aspect of the site, though I understand the building to be art deco, in which case palms are indeed appropriate.
While safety clearly has to be an issue, I am concerned that no replacement trees are proposed for the thirteen palms to be removed (noting also how trees mitigate heat island effects).
It may be that the adverse effects of the removal might at least be partly mitigated by replacement trees and/or landscaping (including replacing existing hard surfaces with soil and plantings) and that the approval be subject to such a condition or conditions.
