Opposition to proposed Woolies development ramps up

More than 110 concerned residents gathered on Thursday, April 24, to protest a proposed Woolworths development which they say will pose a threat to the ecologically sensitive Kincumber Wetlands.

Woolworths is considering plans to construct a new supermarket on the site, which is owned by the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council (DLALC).

Among the crowd at the rally were elders from nearby residential villages, many of whom have enjoyed the tranquillity and biodiversity of the wetlands for decades.

“We walk here daily and to consider that it might be destroyed for another shopping centre is devastating,” one resident said.

Locals also expressed concerns over increased traffic congestion, an unnecessary commercial development, but, most critically, the threat to endangered species that call the wetlands home.

Residents argue that a new Woolworths is not only redundant – with a Coles located just across the road – but that it could easily be built on an alternative, non-native site such as a disused or abandoned location.

A spokesperson said some of the species that have been recorded on the site include Bush Stone-Curlew, Osprey, Powerful Owl, Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey-headed Flying-fox, Eastern Curlew, Varied Sittella, Little Lorikeet, and Barking Owl which are considered either vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.

The vegetation on the site is Swamp Sclerophyll Forest, Swamp Oak Floodplain Forest and Coastal Saltmarsh which are all considered Endangered Ecological Communities, the spokesperson said.

The site also contains Mangroves Protected Marine Vegetation and is home to the critically endangered plant, Scrub Turpentine.

“Residents can’t understand why the Land Council or Woolworths would consider destroying such an environmentally important site,” the spokesperson said.

“The Kincumber Wetlands are not just a haven for native flora and fauna, they also play a crucial role in the health of the broader ecosystem.

“These wetlands act as a natural filtration system for runoff and are vital to the health of Brisbane Water, a significant estuarine waterway in the region.”

One Aboriginal Elder advised that the totems for the area are the Black Swan and the Ibis.

“They are a part of this environment and if this land is developed flood mitigation will be a real issue,” he said.

Independent candidate for Robertson Lisa Bellamy said the land used to be Crown land and was given to DLALC under the Land Rights Act.

“But nobody thought it would mean the bulldozing of this land.,” she said.

“I totally understand self-determination, but not at the expense of ecologically sensitive areas.”

Central Coast Greens party member, Kate Da Costa said residents should not have to argue that this wetland and others should be saved due to the endangered species.

“We do not have enough wetlands left on the Central Coast,” she said.

Sue Chidgey, who founded Save Central Coast Reserves in 2015 to save 25 local reserves from the then Gosford Council’s plans to rezone and sell-off the land for development, said the protest was about protecting what can’t be replaced.

“Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever,” she said.

The Save Kincumber Wetlands Facebook group has grown to more than 1100 members in just over six weeks.

For more information and updates, visit the Save Kincumber Wetlands Facebook page.