The Beagle Editor,
South Durras residents are again fighting to save their “Dedicated Public Reserve” (Lot 84), the only wildlife corridor between the Murramarang National Park, the Village sector of South Durras and our freshwater wetlands. They have submitted detailed submissions objecting to the Eurobodalla Shire Council’s Planning Proposal 19 to re-classify the narrow, naturally forested walkway to operational land for sale. They urge concerned residents to also make a submission by Wednesday 5 April 2023 to council@esc.nsw.gov.au.
The current Proposal is based on a flawed 2018 Recreation and Open Space Study (ROSS) report which simply dismissed the reserve as having “no conservation or recreation value” without any substantiation and very limited public consultation. The report, prepared by ‘out of town’ consultants, failed to acknowledge that the land was a “Dedicated Public Reserve”, a wildlife corridor, a habitat for threatened yellow-bellied and greater gliders, a well-used public walkway, and an Asset Protection Zone (APZ) providing access for firefighters and an escape route for people and native animals in a fire.
Even though we provided this critical information to the previous Council, it has been ignored. The Planning Proposal is full of discrepancies and contradictions that could have been avoided if they had listened back then. The exercise appeared to be designed purely for revenue raising and to avoid public scrutiny.
Notably, the Proposal is inconsistent with many of the new Council’s own policies and strategic plans for ‘protecting and enhancing our natural environment’. A glaring example is the contradiction with the Council’s Draft Biodiversity Strategy which prioritises action to “identify, protect and enhance wildlife corridors”, widely reported in the Council’s recent newsletter. Destroying this narrow undisturbed bushland wildlife corridor with ‘wall-to-wall’ urban infill will undermine this strategy by destroying the tree canopy critical for endangered gliders and restricting access for native animals to fresh water in the wetlands.
Also, no recognition has been given to the consequences of climate change with the strong likelihood of more disastrous bushfires, particularly as all of South Durras is classified by the RFS as a ‘high-risk fire area’. However the Proposal wrongly claims that, because the Reserve is approximately 160m from the MNP, there is no need for an APZ. To the contrary, evidence from the 2019-20 “Black Summer” bushfires shows that far-reaching ember attacks destroyed many homes in Eurobodalla.
The Reserve is a popular public walkway and much-valued asset and its removal would negatively impact the community and visitors to South Durras. It is an integral part of the original Village subdivision designed to be sympathetic to the forest character of the adjacent National Park with large blocks, retention of natural bushland and a no-fence policy that allows the free movement of wildlife throughout the village. The area is famous for its prolific native fauna and its easy interaction with residents and visitors, which is promoted by the Council in their tourist publications.
The adjacent residents are predictably concerned about the loss of amenity and value of their properties which were purchased in good faith on existing zoning. The Reserve is long and much narrower than the surrounding blocks, and clearly never planned for development in such a low-density area. It seems likely that any building would be positioned close to both side boundaries and to the maximum allowable height, thus negatively impacting privacy and shadowing adjacent properties. Such development would also fail to preserve the distinctive character and heritage of the Village.
South Durras Village residents and community groups implore the new Council to carefully consider all the information provided to them and to reject this Proposal for Lot 84. It is a valued “Dedicated Public Reserve” and failing to retain its original nature and purpose contravenes many of Council’s existing and proposed policies.
Please contact Dale Inabinet, spokesperson for adjoining landholders and Durras Community Association, on mobile at 0407928080 for more information on this important issue for South Durras.
1. South Durras village satellite image showing Public Reserve wildlife corridor linking Murramarang National Park and freshwater Wetlands.
