A PROPOSAL from Seton Catholic College to plonk a couple of 4.3-metre high water tanks opposite residential homes and block off a public road have some Samson neighbours up in arms.

The college is planning a new two-storey administration building on its southern boundary so the old one can be revamped and used by students with special needs.

Because part of the school is in a bushfire zone, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services required a management plan which identified the need for water tanks and a pump house in case of an emergency.

The school says it’s looked at all available sites and Letchford Street – opposite residential housing – is the only place that fits the bill.

“The location of the existing/new fire booster cabinet is immediately adjacent to the proposed new tanks and pumps and to one of the college entrances which is a preferred DFES access location for the booster assembly,” the college wrote in an application to Fremantle council.

Vegetation

A tree and “large amounts” of vegetation would have to make way for the tanks, and while they’ll be painted green and surrounded by a wall and what vegetation remains, the council’s planners aren’t convinced.

In a report to this week’s planning meeting, they recommended a landscaping plan be sought to ensure the tanks are better screened.

The new admin building will see some staff parking disappear, but the college is in talks with the council about providing angled parking in Marchant Road, which surrounds the site.

The school also wants to gate off Marchant Road as a way of controlling congestion during pick-ups and drop-offs.

It argued that a survey showed it’s mostly used by staff and parents, but the residents and the council aren’t convinced and the recommendation was for that part of the plan to be refused.