NEWS - - Stockland Take's Over Vincentia

NEW INFO HERE - GET YOUR SUBMISSON OUT NOW

Vincentia residential subdivision and town centre as proposed by Stockland*

To help stop this development we are asking that you make a submission to Stockland who is currently seeking public comment on their proposal. Following this public comment there will be an assessment by the Commonwealth Minister for Environment and Water Resources, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull. His department has called in the proposal under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999) (EPBC Act) because of the potential impact on threatened species listed under that Act. The State Government’s recent approval of this development is not the final step.

Submissions are due to Stockland by Monday 19 February 2007. We therefore advise you to have the submission* in the mail by Thursday 15 February 2007*. No email address or fax has been provided by Stockland for accepting submissions.

Please use the information below to send submissions *in your own words* to:

Vincentia Development Manager
Stockland Developments Pty Ltd
GPO Box 998
SYDNEY NSW 2001

Copy the submission to:

The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP Mrs Joanna Gash MP
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Member for Gilmore
PO Box 6022 PO Box 1009
House of Representatives Nowra NSW 2541
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

- From the documentation provided by Stockland and the Australian Government environment web site, the location for this development is extremely species rich, and has a high number of threatened species. The EPBC Act is there to protect such species *and therefore the development should not proceed*.

- Booderee National Park recently gained national recognition as one of the top 10 reserves in Australia. Mr Hunt, the then Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage, said "The reserves are selected for their exceptional contributions to Australia's National Reserve System and their national significance in protecting key components of biodiversity, including rare or threatened species and ecosystems, and places of outstanding species richness" The Australian Government must see this quality of Booderee is threatened by clearing this land, which is part of a corridor connecting Booderee to other protected areas.

- Many of the mitigation proposals require ongoing maintenance and monitoring, but there is no guarantee in the documentation that Shoalhaven City Council (SCC) or Stockland (in the long term) will carry out this work. For example, initial fencing of the Environmental Zone will presumably be the responsibility of Stockland but who will maintain and repair it? Protection of threatened species is for posterity, but as properties change hands, this need to uphold covenants is likely to get lost over time.

- Stockland proposes a covenant to ban cats from the development, but SCC has no policy on cat-banning. Current resourcing by the SCC for animal control would not allow policing of this covenant. Attempts to have dogs on the leash are also sure to fail as SCC have only 3 animal rangers for the whole of the Shoalhaven and they are unable to enforce the regulations in existing areas.

- It is impossible to tell whether the negative effect of feral animals can be mitigated as there is no management plan available. Other environmental management plans are also not yet available and yet we are asked to comment on whether we think they adequately assist the protection of threatened species. How can we?

- Despite traffic calming measures on Wool Road, widening the road to four lanes and the increased traffic flow are likely to impact on slow moving species such as the Eastern Bristlebird and the Giant Burrowing Frog. It is widely accepted that these species suffer from road mortality

- Giant Burrowing Frog habitat potentially covers the whole development site as all known suitable vegetation types for its habitat are present.

- The documentation indicates the presence of Eastern Bristlebirds in an area the proponent has defined as not suitable for them. Therefore the development should not proceed so that the wider habitat of the bird can be preserved. Further, information contained within the documentation implies that the presence of this species on the site provides an important link between the same species to the south and to the north, and should therefore be protected.

- The plan suggests land around the Jervis Bay leek orchid may be fenced for protection from people and animals. However changed water flows across the site will adversely affect the on-going health of these plants.

- The documentation states “the true number of individuals at sites across NSW is unknown” in reference to the orchid /Cryptostylis hunteriana/. The precautionary principle should be applied here as the importance of the population at this site is unknown.

For more information contact Leslie Lockwood on 4441 728

- - > GET YOUR SUBMISSON OUT NOW < - -

After the State Govt assessed the Stockland's Vincentia development proposal for a large shopping complex, plus over 650 homes and a District Centre, Stocklands Pty Ltd referred those Threatened Species on the site which were listed under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1995 (EPBC Act) to the Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH). Many people raised concerns about those Threatened Species and submissions were sent about the development and the impacts it would create. The species listed were Jervis Bay Leek orchid, Eastern bristlebird, Southern Brown Bandicoot, Giant Burrowing Frog and the Leafless Tongue Orchid. These had been noted on the site but there were others that could have been on the property which had to be considered. Also the breakdown in the habitat corridor leading from Commonwealth Territory (Booderee National Park) would have been taken into consideration.

The Stockland referral has now ben considered under the Act (EPBC) by DEH and a decision has been made that the proposed action IS LIKELY TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.........

This now means that Stockland has to provide further information to determine the level of assessments required. The Commonwealth Decision maker will decide whether the level of assessment will be based on Preliminary Information, a Public Environment Report, Environment Impact Statement or Public Inquiry.

This means there will be further review of the situation and the Commonwealth (DEH) have recognised the threats and impacts to the Threatened Species on the site and in the area and many people are concerned.

It has taken input from people to get to this stage. The assessment documentation for public comment will be advertised on the Departments website www.deh.gov.au those who made submission will be notified. Anyone wishing to be informed of public comment time can supply their email address. It is good to see the Government does work to protect our Threatened Species.

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Infomation Flier

Petition