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April 12, 2016
Your independent community newspaper - Ph: 4325 7369
Issue 89
Land sale for railway facility deferred
A view of Turpentine Rd, Kangy Angy under water in January
Kangy Angy land sale supported by some
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ot all Kangy Angy residents are opposed to the development of an inter-city train maintenance facility in the area.
The proposed intercity fleet maintenance site during local floods
decision to sell land at Kangy Angy to Transport for NSW has been deferred by Wyong Council for two months to allow residents to make further representations to Transport for NSW regarding possible alternate locations for the facility.
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Spokesperson for the Kangy Angy Residents Action Group, Mr Tony Caldersmith spoke against the sale of the land at the Wyong Council meeting on Wednesday, March 23, describing it as ecologically sensitive floodplain land to be sold to make way for a railway fleet maintenance facility. “There is compelling evidence that the site is unsuitable for the proposed development given the flooding and environmental constraints of the land… alternative sites without those constraints are available and should be taken up,” Mr Caldersmith said. The land would be
rezoned to make way for the rail facility. “No less than four endangered floodplain ecological communities occur within the site and it provides foraging and habitat for a range of threatened and critically engendered species including yellow-bellied gliders, squirrel gliders and the powerful owl. “Also, a tributary of Ourimbah Creek flowing through the site is a known biodiversity ‘hot-spot’ for rare and threatened amphibian species such as the green and golden bell-frog and the green-thighed frog,” he said. “We don’t want our
wildlife to be railroaded.” According to the Environmental Issues Report prepared by Conacher Consulting, December 2015, the Land and Environment Court would be likely to find that the site is unsuitable for the proposed development. The site also presents considerable constraints in terms of flooding and bushfire and a development of the type and scale proposed would be likely to have an unacceptable and significant impact on a number of species or their habitats. The report found
that the proposal would significantly impact on endangered ecological communities, PCTs that contain threatened species habitat, areas that contain habitat for vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered threatened species, wildlife habitat linkages and a riparian area and watercourse of fourth order and an important wetland area. It further states that alternative sites for the proposal which would result in a reduced impact on local biodiversity should be investigated. Media release, Mar 21, 2016 Environmental Issues Report Summary, Dec 2015 Michelle Nicholson, Kangy Angy Residents Action Group
One such resident, Mr Dean Innes spoke at Wyong Council on March 23 in favour of the proposed sale of council land to Transport for NSW. “There is a group of people in the north of the street who would like to see it proceed,” he said. Mr Innes said the development would create the opportunity for a new land bridge to deal with flooding and even a children’s playground. According to Mr Innes, Transport for NSW had promised a landscaped buffer to make sure the facility was permanently hidden. “We’ve also engaged our own planner to look at various ways to get around development restrictions in the area and this development is a
solution to some of those problems. In responding to questions from Cr Doug Vincent, a representative of the Kangy Angy Residents Action Group, Mr Tony Caldersmith said Transport for NSW had said it was too early to discuss community benefits. “The railway people said it was all too early; they were not going to talk about that yet, we are not down to that level of planning,” Mr Caldersmith said. Mr Caldersmith also confirmed that Wyong Council had not, at any stage, approached residents about the idea of selling the land to Transport for NSW.
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