Over one hundred people protested on Saturday afternoon (July 31) in Broulee in a COVID-safe gathering addressing the issue of covert land clearing on what they believed to be community land.
Broulee Mossy Point Community Association spokesperson, Andrew Bain, addressed the crowd saying
“We want Council to observe and stand by the decision from 2003. Back then, this land was assigned to the community because of strong community support. Many letters were written and a petition was submitted to Council.
"We need council to see that there is still strong, if not stronger, support for retaining this area as community land. We will persevere in our fight and we will prevail.”
Councillor Anthony Mayne, has been seeking answers as to why Lot 89, assigned as community land in 2003 and clearly marked by landcare signs, has not been formally made Community.
He said: “When will the 2003 Council Resolution be put into effect? The Council ultimately wants to sell this land, as they have already tried to do this once. And once sold it will be clear-felled because this is how Council does urban design.”
“While it's only a little bit of land in Broulee, that we all love, but it is symbolic of what is really important to us, as a community that live on the South Coast, who want a place to live but also want to cherish the nature that we’ve still got, which also attracts tourist to our beautiful place. Not a place that is clear-felled and becomes a Central Coast Urban sprawl,”
Councillor Mayne said “I am calling on the Council to recognise that a lot of people who live in Broulee care about this issue as demonstrated by the turnout to the protests. We want this little piece of land formally given back to the community. It is difficult for the community to understand why this is not a simple matter of formally adopting the 2003 motion. Here is a chance for the council to show it is listening to its ratepayers.”
Another local resident, the Reverend Linda Chapman OAM spoke: “Why are we here again? It has become blatantly clear that Lot 89, in the Council motion in 2003 was to become community land. It would appear as though Council are now looking at other options. But we are not going to be fobbed off. We will not stop until this land is formally adopted as a community bushland reserve.”
Reverend Chapman added “We have a sacred obligation to look after this earth. This might be a small patch of land but it matters.”
Broulee Mossy Point Community Association (BMPCA) has started a petition calling on ESC to meet its 2003 commitment that Lot 89 (DP 1093710) is classified as community land: bushland and the commitment by Lindsay Usher in the press release of 29 June 2021 that the unformed road adjacent to Lot 89 will become community Land.
“Action to turn the road reserve into community land is now underway,”
Lindsay Usher, June 29th, 2021.
