With public submissions set to close on January 29, the Save Kariong Sacred Lands Group is urging residents to have their say on a proposed housing development at 300 Woy Woy Rd.
Now on exhibition through the NSW Government Planning Portal, the proposal by Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council (DLALC) is for 50 homes to be built on a 6ha site.
The group is ramping up its opposition to the development, doing leaflet drops and door-knocking to encourage residents to voice their opposition to the plan.
Spokesperson Lisa Bellamy said the aim was to get as many submissions opposing the development as possible off the ground.
The group is holding weekly Zoom meetings to further inform the public and urging residents to email their thoughts on the proposal to Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch.
An information pack put out by the group outlines its major concerns.
“Once this rezoning and development is allowed to go ahead, it will open the floodgates for other destructive developments all over the Central Coast and NSW,” the publication says.
The site is currently zoned C2 environmental conservation – the highest environmental protection for private land.
The proposal is to rezone the 6ha area to allow for a cut and fill style subdivision to make way for 50 residential housing lots.
DLALC proposes to develop half of the site and use the remainder of the land as a biodiversity credit offset.
The group says many endangered and threatened species call the site home, including the Eastern Pigmy Possum, the Large Eared Pied Bat, the Swift Parrot and the Black Cockatoo.
Five species of native fauna are also at risk, it says.
“There are at least two registered Aboriginal sites within the area which will be fenced off for protection but the group is unconvinced of the effectiveness of this.
“This land is part of a tract of land with enormous cultural significance for traditional custodians,” the publication says.
“One of the Gosford glyphs and the grandmother tree are a couple of hundred metres downhill from the project area.”
The group feels the proximity of the development could threaten these two landmarks.
Local environmentalist, wildlife rescuer and Coast Environmental Alliance (CEA) co-founder Jessie Fancett is also calling on Central Coast politicians and the community to join together to protect the land, which borders the E2 zoned Brisbane Water National Park (Bambara).
“Brisbane Water National Park, which joins the land proposed to be developed, is listed as an Area of Regions Koala Significance (ARKS); that’s why it’s so incredibly important to ensure that this unsustainable development is not allowed to destroy critical koala habitat,” Fancett said.
“I am extremely concerned, given the wildlife that lives in the bushland, that there will be a number of casualties.
“Many developments that I have been involved in trying to stop have resulted in the area becoming a wildlife death trap regardless of the measures in place.
“Wildlife carers and rescuers are all volunteers and are more often than not overwhelmed with the number of animals needing rescuing and rehabilitation due to being displaced.
“Time and time again I read reports about biobanking credits, land rehabilitation and wildlife corridors being kept, but it’s never the same as the area used to be.
“Domestic animals are also a real issue here.
“The proposed housing development backs onto a national park.
“Domestic cats are skilled predators and are responsible for the extinction of ground-dwelling birds and small to medium-sized mammals; even a bite from a cat can transmit infectious diseases to native animals.
“With this in mind, I can’t fathom why anyone would believe that such a development would not significantly impact the surrounding national park.
“Extinction is forever and with the current climate changes and significant rapid development of the Central Coast it’s more important than ever to preserve the beautiful and unique bushland we share with an amazing abundance of wildlife that makes the Central Coast such an amazing place to live.”
Further information can be obtained from the Save Kariong Sacred Lands Facebook page or the website savekariongsacredlands.com
For more information, search ‘Kariong’ at pp.planningportal.nsw.gov.au
Terry Collins
The area MUST be left alone.!! The Aboriginal status should be protected at ALL times and forever.!!
This particular parcel of Crown Land should remain a C2 listing because of its higlhy sensitive ecosytem. The DLALC have plenty more options on the Central Coast on which to build housing estates that are not as potentially disastrous as this as it will have too great an impact on Brisbane Water National Park, listed endangered species of flora and fauna, environmental impact through water run-off (the area to be developed is above a hanging swamp in Bambara and leads down to oyster leases) and especially because it is an area of very special significance for our traditional custodians – who want to have it retained as a protected area. Other considerations are increased traffic, noise, domestic pets next to a National Park. The Kariong Progress Association is also against this development – which says a lot!
C2 zoned land is there for a purpose – no C2 land should be rezoned for development