Owners of a block of industrial land at 77 Lake Rd, Tuggerah, part of the Tuggerah Industrial Estate, have received approval from the Local Planning Panel to remove a proposed designated wetland area so the block can be filled.
It plans to fill the site and build retaining walls to create a building pad on flood prone land.
Control plans for the area required about half the site to be a man-made wetland, and the applicant requested that Central Coast Council review this requirement.
The applicant provided an alternative drainage scheme, which it said satisfied the objectives of the control plans, and said Council intended to update drainage requirements for the area, which will include removal of the wetland area.
“Since the creation of the scheme a number of changes in the area have potentially impacted the scheme,” the applicant, PM Anderson Consulting Pty Ltd on behalf of owner Croscreh Pty Ltd, said in the proposal.
“The Regional Sporting Complex/Lake Road upgrade including drainage, was never envisaged, and the retention of important biodiversity that occurs in the location of (the wetland site) is also important.”
In approving the changes, the Local Planning Panel noted the variation to the Contributions Plan, by not including an on-site wetland, would have no adverse financial impact upon the Council and noted advice it would not lead to adverse down-stream flooding outcomes.
Council’s flood engineer and development engineer reviewed the proposal and advised that the proposed filling will be consistent with other sites within the precinct that have been developed.
The nominated fill level of up to 3.40m AHD (Australian Height Datum) is considered appropriate.
A Preliminary Contaminated Site Investigation, prepared by Geotest Services Pty Ltd, was submitted with the application.
The site, about 13,370m2 and zoned Light Industrial, was identified to have been historically used as part of an airstrip in the south-eastern portion of the site from about 1942 until after World War II when the airstrip was converted into paddocks to support rural residential living.
“A light aircraft was understood to have made an emergency landing at the airstrip runway in 1950,” the application said.
“Since 1950, the site appears to have been largely used for residential occupancy and is currently vacant with no structures on site.
“A site plan has been provided detailing potential building locations to demonstrate that future development could be accommodated on the site.”
The application noted that Council did not intend to acquire the private land for use as a wetland as part of the overall drainage scheme for the area and accordingly, the scheme was currently being reviewed.
The vegetation proposed to be retained has already been separated from the development area with a 2m high security fence.
The area of vegetation to be retained qualifies as the Endangered Ecological Community Swamp Sclerophyll Forest on Coastal Floodplain and includes many Melaleuca biconvexa.
The fence is to remain in place with no further development to impact this vegetation.
A proposed northern retaining wall will be set back 10m from the property boundary.
“This area is proposed to be planted with a minimum 5m width buffer zone between the fence and the retaining wall with tube stock of Melaleuca biconvexa grown from seed collected on site,” the application says.
The area included unauthorised clearing already undertaken.
Merilyn Vale