The Say No to Glenning Valley Development and Save Our Wildlife Campaigns have continued to mount a multi-faceted fight against a residential development on 64 hectares of bushland at Glenning Valley.
The Development Application (DA 1438/2015) at 79 Berkeley Rd, Glenning Valley, is a residential subdivision being considered by Central Coast Council under Part 4 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act).
The Federal Department of Environment and Energy has agreed to consider the subdivision as a controlled action under the Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
The project will subsequently require assessment and approval under the EPBC Act which will give all stakeholders another opportunity to put their case to the Federal Environment Minister, Mr Josh Frydenberg.
The project will be assessed using preliminary documentation, but the Federal Department will call for community submissions.
Meanwhile, a Biobanking Statement from the developer, Newquest Projects Pty Ltd, is currently being assessed by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) and has subsequently resulted in a Land and Environment Court Hearing set down for May 20 to 26 being deferred.
However, the Say No to Glenning Valley Group does not believe the NSW Government’s Biobanking scheme will protect the right bushland.
“The bushland is home to a variety of flora and fauna, of the 159 identified species, at least 35 of them are either threatened or endangered,” said Say No organiser, Ms Kylie Boyle.
“The amalgamation of the Wyong and Gosford Councils and the appointment of an Administrator gave the residents of Glenning Valley a new window of opportunity to stand up and say no and a new hope our voices would be heard”, she said.
“There is a need for more affordable housing on the Central Coast, but our region has certainly felt the impact of councillors who do not utilise our unique bushland for enhancing the community.”
Say No to Glenning Valley wrote to the NSW Minister for the Environment, Ms Gabrielle Upton, regarding the site of the proposed subdivision being core Koala habitat.
The email was referred to the Central Coast Director of the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH), Ms Sharon Molloy.
Ms Molloy wrote in response to the Say No letter to Ms Upton: “Council deemed the development was likely to have a significant impact on threatened species, ecological communities and their habitat,” she said.
“Council therefore requested the proponent to prepare a Species Impact Statement (SIS).”
According to Ms Molloy, the developer requested OEH to provide a list of requirements as set out by the Chief Executive of the OEH for an SIS.
OEH provided the document on August 26, 2016, but, to date, Newquest has not submitted an SIS.
An alternate approach to the SIS is the submission of a BioBanking Statement under the TSC Act, Ms Molloy said.
“In December 2016, OEH received an application for a BioBanking Statement for the subdivision.
“OEH notes that this application development footprint differs significantly from the proposed DA, in that the most-western lot, which has a small population of Melaleuca biconvexa, has been omitted and all Swamp Sclerophyll Forest on coastal floodplain endangered ecological community on the northern part of the original proposal, will be retained under the existing environmental zoning.
“OEH acknowledges that surveys for the proposal indicate the subject site contains a number of recorded threatened species and is considered potential habitat for others.
“However, their presence or potential occurrence alone is not grounds for refusal.
“The BioBanking Statement provides a pathway for these entities to be considered and utilises the BioBanking Assessment Methodology to quantify potential impacts.”
Ms Molloy said BioBanking was a market-based scheme that provides a biodiversity assessment process for development and a “rigorous and credible offsetting scheme”.
“BioBanking enables biodiversity credits to be generated by landowners who commit to enhance and protect biodiversity values on their land through a BioBanking agreement.
“Credits can be used to counterbalance (or offset) the impacts on biodiversity values that are likely to occur as a result of development.
“OEH is currently assessing the Glenning Valley BioBanking statement application.
“Many of the species you have listed in your correspondence are ‘ecosystem’ species under the above process.
“This means that if suitable vegetation habitat is present on site they are automatically considered and appropriate biodiversity credits are generated.
“Species such as the Swift Parrot and Squirrel Glider are considered due to suitable habitat being present, and under the BioBanking scheme they will require biodiversity credits to be offset by the proponent.
“The proponent must obtain and retire all biodiversity credits, as specified in the BioBanking statement, before the development can commence.
“With respect to Koala, the species was not considered in the current process as the proponent indicated the scat collected during surveys in 2008 was a mis-identification.
“Nevertheless, all potential core Koala habitat on the subject site (Swamp Mahogany forests) are being retained.
“The Spot Assessment Technique, used to determine Koala activity, has been undertaken on the subject site in 2008.
“This process indicated that Koalas were unlikely to be present,” Ms Molloy said.
Mr Martin Ball, Assistant General Counsel for Central Coast Council, recently advised the Say No campaigners that the Land and Environment Court hearing set down for May 22-26 had been vacated due to the delay in the OEH’s determination of the Biobanking application.
“If a successful Biobanking statement is issued by OEH, it will, ..have the consequence that the court … must assume the development is not likely to have a significant impact on species are covered by the statement.
“The precise implications of any such statement will not be known until a statement is issued by OEH.
Mr Ball said he was not aware of whether or not Central Coast Council had made any submission to the Commonwealth Department of the Environment in respect of the EPBC Act referral.
Source:
Email, Apr 7
Heather Robinson, office of Emma McBride
Email, Apr 21
Sharon Molloy, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage
Email, Apr 26
Martin Ball, Central Coast Council
Interview, May 19
Kylie Doyle, Say No to Glenning Valley Development
Jackie Pearson, journalist