No Road in Royal National Park for eco-lodge

No Road in Royal National Park for eco-lodge
Most of these trees and thousands more are to be cleared on the former Scout land and within the Royal National Park for a proposed "recreation camp".

Don’t let the Royal National Park be used to clear hundreds of trees for private commercial development!

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Australia’s oldest national park or a developers’ gateway for greenfield land clearing? The fire trail at the end of Beachcomber Ave, where the Coast Track starts, is proposed to be upgraded to a public road to the proposed eco-resort.

RE-EXHIBITION of Proposed Road in Royal National Park for
Bundeena Coast Eco Lodge Development, Spring Gully.

Lodge your objection online NOW!

The NPWS are re-exhibiting the road access proposal until 4 August 2017. NPWS advise that re-exhibition is due to errors with the originally exhibited material and requests objectors to lodge fresh submissions. Location diagram.

The Land and Environment Court requires the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to determine  whether it will permit road access through the Royal National Park to the proposed Bundeena Coast Eco-lodge on the former Scout land at Spring Gully, Bundeena. The Minister for the Environment will decide on an application from a private commercial party to convert and extend the fire trail at the Bundeena entrance to the Coast Track into a 480m long road (built to public road standard), through the Royal National Park.

If the road is approved it will allow the proposed clearing of many hundreds of trees for the construction of a proposed eco-tourist facility on the adjoining former Scout  land which comprises 5.6 hectares of pristine forest and wetland of outstanding biodiversity value.

Many local residents have contacted us concerned about the statement on the NPWS web site that submissions “outside the scope” of the proposal will not be considered. We have obtained legal advice on the relevant scope for submissions. We have considered this advice in preparing the objection which you can submit online.

Lodge your objection online NOW!

Eastern Pygmy possum habitat to be cleared for eco-resort in the Royal National Park!Eastern pygmy possum habitat in the Royal National Park to be cleared for eco-resort!

Unacceptable Bushfire Risk!

  • It has been accepted that the proposed access road cannot provide safe evacuation during a bushfire.
  • The RFS Bundeena Brigade and Sutherland District Command both oppose the development. It is not safe.

Unacceptable Ecological Impacts if the road is approved!

  • Around 450 mature trees will be cleared, including at least 55 hollow bearing habitat trees.
  • Many hundreds more trees will be cleared from the dense bloodwood mallee at the top of the gully.
  • Vegetation and habitat will be removed from over two hectares of pristine native forest for bushfire protection for six safari tents and a caretaker residence!
  • This land is habitat for threatened species including Eastern pygmy possum, Red-crowned toadlet, Giant-burrowing frog, Powerful owl, and others.
  • Five Endangered Ecological Communities and seventeen Threatened Species habitats will be impacted including the critically endangered Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub!

Unacceptable Impacts to the Royal National Park and local residents!

  • The RFS require the existing fire trail to be upgraded and widened to public road standard and remain unobstructed at all times day and night. The road will directly impact traffic and pedestrian safety at the entrance to the Coast Track, the most popular track entrance in the Royal, and create further disturbance for local residents.

Spring Gully is one of the most bio-diverse areas in the Royal National Park. The Park is the second most bio-diverse park reserve in NSW and Australia’s oldest!

Lodge your objection online NOW!

Alternatively, download our suggested submission [PDF] [DOCX] and email to royal.ref@environment.nsw.gov.au by 4 August 2017.

Full details of the application are on public exhibition at the Office of Environment and Heritage website.

Threatened species habitat to be cleared.

Hundreds of trees within threatened species habitat to be cleared.

Bloodwood mallee with thousands of trees growing from large underground lignotubers. This forest is hundreds (maybe thousands) of years old! A significant area of this forest is to be cleared for the proposed eco-resort.