With World Wetlands Day being celebrated on February 2, the Community Environment Network (CEN) has described Central Coast Council’s track record on protecting local wetlands as “shameful”.
The CEN has called on Central Coast Council to explain its reasons for neglecting to protect two of the region’s most important wetlands – Porters Creek and Spring Creek.
“When Central Coast Council was placed under administration in October 2020, CEN urged the newly appointed Interim Administrator and Acting CEO to complete an agreement with the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT) to permanently protect Porters Creek Wetland,” Chair Gary Chestnut said.
“Not only did they fob us off, but they didn’t even have the good manners to inform the BCT that they had changed their mind about an agreement that was ready to sign off.
“During this current period of administration, Council has also backed away from storm water management plans for the Porters Creek Wetland that would have gone some way to protect the region’s biggest freshwater wetland from some of the consequences of over[1]development in its catchment.
“Council has opted for less expensive ‘nature-based’ solutions that we hope will be effective enough to prevent the wetland from literally drowning in stormwater runoff.
“Meanwhile the currently-exhibited community land draft plan of management implies that the whole of Porters Creek Wetland was classified as operational land by the former Wyong Council and the current administration appears comfortable with this.
“Operational land can be sold by Council and CEN considers it a travesty that this wetland is not valued enough by our local government to be classified as community land to protect it from sale when it perfectly matches the definition of a Natural Area – Wetland in the draft plan of management.”
Chestnut said CEN repeats its call for Council to enter a Conservation Agreement with the NSW BCT to permanently protect Porters Creek Wetland and reclassify it from operational to community land.
“This is particularly important as the recently-released Greater Cities Commission’s Central Coast Strategy recommends unlocking employment land in ‘the Northern Growth Corridor around the Central Coast Airport at Warnervale…’ and includes a photograph of the airport runway extended through the wetland,” he said.
“Is the long-term plan to develop the airport into the wetland?
“If so, where’s the business case for doing so?”
Chestnut said CEN was also continuing to work on its response to the inappropriate sale of land at Doyalson including the Spring Creek Wetland.
“It is clear from the research we have done to date that Council was aware, before selling this land, of its long-term conservation value,” he said.
“CEN believes Council needs to explain its actions to the public, repurchase the land, classify it as community land and complete the work we now know it had started to protect the land through bio-certification.”
Chestnut said CEN had written to Council CEO David Farmer, the Local Government Minister and former directors multiple times with no response.
Source:
Media release, Feb 2
Community Environment Network