Big push to save Bright's elm trees with 4000 petition signatures

An approved housing estate adjacent to Great Alpine Road, titled by Alpine Shire Council as the Bright Valley Development, will see some of the avenue of trees removed to create three access points to the proposed residential area.

At least five trees have been flagged for removal or relocation by developer Deague Group, which would create gaps in the stretch of elms.

Bright resident Leanne Boyd started the petition and is hopeful it will bring about a change to the plans.

"The trees that line the road leading into Bright are significant, it replicates an avenue of honour," she said.

"It is a remarkable and welcoming sight at the very gateway to Bright. In Autumn, it is an absolutely glorious display.

"We are a tourist town and these trees are a big part of that. They are also important because so many people identify with them as being part of their history."

IN OTHER NEWS:

Alpine Shire Council chief executive Will Jeremy said it "was very unlikely the impact would be less than five trees" given the requirements to create an intersection.

"Great Alpine Road is an 80km/h road and there's a standard intersection design which has a left turning lane, a right turning lane and standard road width, so that is where we're seeing potentially significant impact of more than the five trees that were originally flagged as being impacted," he said.

"We're currently working with Vic Roads to try and manage that and there are a couple of things we can do. We can work with them to reduce the speed down from 80 to 60 and also establish what flexibility there is around their junction design.

"Perhaps removing the need for turning lanes, reducing road width and perhaps looking at the use of barriers to protect the trees."

Deague Group chief executive Will Deague said an 80km/h road would see more trees impacted by highway standards than if it was reduced to 60km/h.

"Local residents have rightfully been protective and vocal about trees on the Great Alpine Road. We share this sentiment, which is why we have invested in designing for minimal impact and exploring relocating the trees within the site instead of removal," he said.

"Additionally, we identified retaining approximately 160 previously earmarked trees to be demolished. This includes the beautiful poplar rows planted by the previous owner."

Mr Deague revealed the company would plant an extra 2000 established trees, being grown at Echuca, within the estate.

Ms Boyd is fearful the decision won't be undone or altered given it received unanimous support from the council in July last year.

"There's no compromise or no alternative solution, but I'm sure there could be if they adjusted their development plan," she said.

"They've offered no avenue of discussing this as such at the minute."

Most of the elm trees were planted after World War II as an unofficial memorial avenue.

To read more stories, download The Border Mail news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: