RESPONSE TO EPBC SUBMISSIONS HEATHCOTE RIDGE, WEST MENAI August 2012 Prepared for Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council By BBC Consulting Planners with input from the consultant team 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 2 2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................... 3 3. RESPONSE TO SUBMISSIONS ........................................................................... 7 J:\2009\09191\Reports\strategic assessment\FINAL JULY 2012\Response to EPBC Report - Final.doc 1 1. INTRODUCTION The draft 'Heathcote Ridge Program Report' dated December 2011 and the draft 'Strategic Impact Assessment Report' dated December 2011 was jointly exhibited with the ‘State Significant Site Study’ dated December 2011. This public exhibition and comment process meets the requirements of the EPBC Act and the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act). As a result of the submissions made during the exhibition process, amendments have been made to the program which are incorporated into the final 'Heathcote Ridge Program Report' and 'Strategic Impact Assessment Report' dated August 2011. The study and draft PR and SAR were exhibited from 14 December 2011 to 29 February 2012. The Proponent (GLALC) has considered the issues raised in the submissions made during the exhibition period and has implemented various actions in relation thereto. This includes some significant changes to the structure plan and associated planning controls which are described in the final Program Report for the Strategic Assessment of the Heathcote Ridge Development, West Menai, under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999) dated August 2012. J:\2009\09191\Reports\strategic assessment\FINAL JULY 2012\Response to EPBC Report - Final.doc 2 2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council’s proposal for Heathcote Ridge at West Menai is the largest Aboriginal owned and managed project in Australia. Covering around 850 hectares, the project seeks to help address Sydney’s housing and employment land shortages whilst still protecting two thirds of the site for conservation. Capital raised by the fifteen to twenty year project will fund education, employment, housing and transport programs for Aboriginal people in Sydney’s south west in an effort to break welfare dependency and help Aboriginal people achieve the type of financial and social independence that other Australians take for granted. The project itself will: provide thousands of quality local jobs; help ease local housing pressures; enable more local residents to live near their work; open up a spectacular conservation park for public enjoyment; provide recreational and retail hubs for the local community; rehabilitate areas degraded by decades of dumping; and provide nearly $100 million of improved local roads and infrastructure at no net cost to government. The Heathcote Ridge State Significant Site Study (SSS Study) was submitted to the Department of Planning and Infrastructure (DP&I) in December 2011 and publicly exhibited for a period of almost three months - to the end of February 2012. The consultation with community, government agencies and interested stakeholders in the lead up to and during the formal consultation phase for the SSS Study has been extensive. GLALC hosted two immediate neighbour forums, three broader community forums and two community information display sessions with experts on hand to answer community questions. More than 30 different stakeholders have been directly consulted. Following the exhibition and consultation phase, GLALC had an opportunity to consider all the submissions and take on board the variety of feedback received. An amended Land Use Structure Plan for the site has been prepared (Figure 1). The key elements of the revised proposal are: The provision of a conservation area comprising an area of 566 hectares (66.7%) of the site which is an additional 50 hectares; J:\2009\09191\Reports\strategic assessment\FINAL JULY 2012\Response to EPBC Report - Final.doc 3 Of the remaining 283 hectares of land, the proposed urban purposes comprise: o 51.4 hectares of employment land (including a new village centre) estimated to provide 4,700 jobs; o 182.7 hectares of land for residential and associated purposes including local open space capable of accommodating an estimated 2,400 homes (7,200 persons); o New sportsfields and other open space (17.2 hectares), provision for a school and community facilities; and o A visitors and cultural heritage centre as a gateway to the proposed Heathcote Conservation Area; Creation of distinct residential neighbourhoods linked together via walking trails, pathways and a central collector road spine; Provision of an east west arterial road connecting New Illawarra Road with Heathcote Road; The provision of bushfire management measures including asset protection zones, access routes and water services and neighbourhood safe places. Overall the project continues to deliver on GLALC’s vision to create a high quality, environmentally-sustainable new community that is well connected, protects important ecological areas, integrates with adjoining urban and bushland areas and provides a range of living, working and recreational opportunities in the Sutherland Shire. The protection of both Aboriginal cultural heritage and important biodiversity on the site has always been a key consideration in the design of the development footprint. All the relevant studies, plus the guidance of an independent advisory committee, have resulted in a footprint that operates on the ‘avoidance’ principle. There are no known Aboriginal sites in the development area and any potential sites in the footprint will undergo further investigation during the Development Application stage following rezoning. If any additional actual sites are found in the development footprint, they too will be protected. Any sites indirectly impacted will also attract management actions as the project proceeds depending on their type, location and most effective protection action on a case by case basis. Similarly, the conservation area, now 566 hectares, will be managed under a Biodiversity Management Plan which will ensure the area is actively managed for conservation in perpetuity and funded by the capital raised by the project. This provides an offset ratio of 2:1 and is a net gain for the environment. The removal of the former southern precincts provides an expansion of the important north-south wildlife corridor running through the site. J:\2009\09191\Reports\strategic assessment\FINAL JULY 2012\Response to EPBC Report - Final.doc 4 While the reduction in traffic volume afforded by the reduction in the size of the employment area and residential areas is significant (trips on local and regional roads will be cut by approximately 40% from the exhibited plan), the proponent still proposes to upgrade a range of local infrastructure including funding the critical east-west transport link between Sutherland and Liverpool which will provide benefits to the community through reduction in travel times and provision of new public transport services. In its entirety this proposal will assist the NSW State Government to meet housing and job targets, provide a new, vibrant integrated bushland community in West Menai and protect forever a large conservation area for the people of Sydney, Sutherland and beyond. J:\2009\09191\Reports\strategic assessment\FINAL JULY 2012\Response to EPBC Report - Final.doc 5 Figure 1. Revised Structure Plan J:\2009\09191\Reports\strategic assessment\FINAL JULY 2012\Response to EPBC Report - Final.doc 6 3. RESPONSE TO SUBMISSIONS The table following presents a summary of the issues raised in the submissions made during the exhibition period and the proponent’s response to the submissions. A total of 2 submissions were received in response to EPBC documents. The response to these submissions is discussed in the following table and have been taken into consideration in the preparation of final Program Report for the final Program Report for the Strategic Assessment of the Heathcote Ridge Development, West Menai, under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999) dated August 2012 and the final Strategic Assessment Report Heathcote Ridge, West Menai dated August 2012. It is noted that the submission from Sutherland Environment Centre is similar to the submission from Sutherland Shire Council and addresses the SSS Study with no specific reference to MNES. Nevertheless the response to the Council submission is also provided. J:\2009\09191\Reports\strategic assessment\FINAL JULY 2012\Response to EPBC Report - Final.doc 7 No Submitter Issues Raised Response and Mitigation Strategy Organisation Submissions 1 Sutherland Greens That the plateau areas of at least Precincts 6,7,9 and the part of Matter for Government EPBC 10 North of Barden Trig, together with the Mill Creek Valley should be leased or repurchased by the NSW Government to be protected under NPWS management, entirely or jointly with Gandangara LALC to conserve its endangered flora and avoid blocking a fauna migration corridor. That the proponent, Gandangara LALC, be encouraged to Noted and can be considered in the facilitate responsible access throughout the entire 15-25 year Biodiversity Management Plan for the project time span to undeveloped portions of their West Menai environmental lands. landholding