Former Air Services Australia Site

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• Former Air Services Australia Site

An Alternate Vision
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The Vision

• The NSW Department of Environment and Climate
  Change to acquire the Cranebrook site to become
  Rickabys Creek Regional Park.
• The Regional Park will conserve unique Western
  Sydney Bushland and address local passive
  recreational needs.
• A Regional Park will deliver a proper plan of
  management for the site.

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Why say no to development?

• Entire site has been identified by DECC as a
  Western Sydney Priority Area for conservation
• The site provides habitat for 240 plant species
  87 animal species 7 threatened plant species 2
  threatened animal species and 3 endangered
  ecological communities

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• Some of the threatened plants on the site are the
  largest populations found in Western Sydney
• The site has significant Indigenous heritage
  values
• The site contains the headwaters of Rickabys
  Creek

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• The Site has been mapped by Penrith Council
  asan essential Flora and Fauna Corridor(PCC -
  Flora and Fauna Corridor Study 1997)
• The site is partof the Cumberland Conservation
  Corridor
• The site is an essential linkbetween the ADI
  Site Regional Park and the Castlereagh
  Scribbly Gum Woodlands (Deerubbin Land)

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Vegetation mapping by DECC
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Vegetation mapping by DECC

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Proposed development plan

• Up to 740 lots
• 1800 residents
• 350 sq/m blocks
• 3 storey town houses
• 2000sq/m bushland blocks

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Proposed development plan

• 28.5 hectares _at_ 15 dwellings per hectare
• Castlereagh Ironbark Forest and Castlereagh Swamp
  Woodland will be lost plus thousands of
  threatened plant species

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Proposed development plan

• 14.5 hectares of 350 sq/m blocks
• Castlereagh Swamp Woodland will be lost plus
  thousands of threatened plant species

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Proposed development plan

• 12 hectares of 2000 sq/m blocks
• These areas are probably the best on the site
  with a diversity of endangered species.
• Large lots in community title will not protect
  these species

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The NSW Governments position
In 2006 both the NSW Department of Planning (DoP)
and the NSW Department of Environment and Climate
(DECC) went on the record opposing development of
the site. DoP wrote to IFC Capital Ltd in March
2006 informing them that their site was
considered unnecessary to meet the greenfields
development required by the Metropolitan Strategy
due to the large amount of land proposed for
release within the Sydney Growth Centres. DoP
letter to IFC March 2006 DECC was asked by
Penrith Council to give advice on the making of
its city wide Local Environmental Plan (LEP).
DECC urged Council to use the LEP rezoning
process to conserve the entire siteDECC advice
to Penrith Council
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Section 62 EPA Act 1979, DECC consultation with
Penrith Council Draft Local Environmental
Plan Based on the assessments that have been
undertaken to date it is clear that the site has
significant biodiversity and Aboriginal heritage
values. The DEC considers that those values must
clearly drive any future decisions regarding the
site. Having regard to those values, the DEC
is of the firm view that the site has virtually
no development potential. Given the identified
conservation values and its size, shape, and
current and likely future surrounding land uses,
the protection of the entire site is therefore
considered essential to maintaining its
ecological integrity and the protection of
Aboriginal heritage. The DEC therefore
considers that strong preference should be given
to ensuring that the LEP delivers protection for
the site as a whole. Options to achieve this
outcome will obviously need to be the subject of
further discussion. However, the DEC is not
convinced that simply because the land has passed
into private ownership that this in itself
provides a clear justification for making the
site available for development.
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Botanists say site should be protected
Summary of Conservation Values and Development
Constraints Report by Teresa James, December
2007 There are considerable constraints to
development at the subject site. In addition to
high general levels of biodiversity (flora and
fauna), there are three endangered communities
(EECs) and nine threatened species present
distributed across the area. The populations of
three of the threatened plants are among the
largest recorded for these species. No areas of
the site (of reasonable extent) are devoid of
state significant vegetation or habitat for
threatened species. All parts of the Site are
critical in terms of the biodiversity they
support. Any proposal to re-zone and develop the
western half of the Site, for example, will
result in loss or modification of significant
areas of EECs and populations of three of the
seven threatened plant species present.
Protection and re-zoning of the entire site for
conservation is the only option that will result
in a good conservation outcome. Such sites are
extremely rare in western Sydney and warrant
automatic protection as core biodiversity areas,
the backbone of any reserve system.
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Acacia bynoeana NSW Conservation status
EndangeredNational conservation status
Vulnerable Threats Due to the fragmented nature
of the populations and their small size the
species is susceptible to catastrophic events and
localised extinction.
Allocasuarina glareicola Conservation status in
NSW Endangered National conservation status
Endangered Threats Habitat loss due to clearing
for development or mining
http//www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.a
u
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Persoonia nutans Conservation status in NSW
EndangeredNational conservation status
Endangered ThreatsHabitat loss and
fragmentation (due to clearing for mining, and
rural/residential development).
Micromyrtus minutiflora Conservation status in
NSW EndangeredNational conservation status
Vulnerable Threats Habitat loss through
vegetation clearing for urban development.
http//www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.a
u
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• Pultenaea parviflora
• Conservation status in NSW EndangeredNational
  conservation status VulnerableThreats
• Threats include clearance and fragmentation of
  habitat for residential, industrial and rural
  purposes

Dillwynia tenuifolia Conservation status in
NSW VulnerableNational conservation status
Vulnerable Threats Threats to the species
include clearance and fragmentation of habitat
http//www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.a
u
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This image from 1947 shows the site was densely
vegetated
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Recreation and Conservation
The site would be an ideal Regional Park to be
owned and managed by DECC for environmental
protection and passive recreation Twenty
hectares of the site have been mapped as having
little or no conservation significance This
presents an opportunity to allow this part of the
site to be used for passive recreation such as a
picnic area A successful model is Plumpton Park
at Mt Druitt. Blacktown Council manages an area
of bushland surrounded by suburbia. Conservation
and recreation successfully co-exist at this site
because of a proper plan of management
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There are many similarities between Cranebrook
and Plumpton Park. Plumpton Park has been
successfully protected for over 15 years despite
being surrounded by urban development. This
proves what can happen if sites are properly
managed and properly fenced.
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This image from 1961 shows some of the clearing
that took place. The centre of the site was
heavily maintained and had some buildings. This
is the proposed location of the recreation area
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Location of recreation area
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Location of recreation area
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The public can access the recreational area by
car from Cranebrook Rd utilising the existing
road
Non vehicular access to the recreational and
conservation areas from the Vincent Road side
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Car parking would be available adjacent to the
recreational area
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Proper fencing of car park would be needed to
restrict vehicles from entering into conservation
and recreational areas Entry gates from
Cranebrook Rd can be locked at the end of the day
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Picnic and BBQ facilities could be provided
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The recreational area would be revegetated using
endemic plant species.
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Fencing of the entire Cranebrook site is needed.
Public access to the conservation areas must be
restricted. Cars and motorbikes must be prevented
from accessing the conservation areas There are
several ways to do this
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The boundary of the twenty hectare recreational
area also needs to be fenced The public can
access bushwalking trails from access points
controlled by turnstiles
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Proper fencing of the conservation areas
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Interpretive signage
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Access to the site can be designed to restrict
motorbikes and vehicles
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The sites rare ecological communities are
dependent on maintaining the current hydrological
regimes. Proper management of the sites creeks
are needed. Doing so will make them a major
feature of the site
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Walking trails from the conservation area will
link to the recreational area. The public can
also access the conservation area walking trails
from the Vincent Rd turnstile
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The recreation component of the Cranebrook site
is modelled on Plumpton Park near Mt Druitt -
Blacktown Council
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Current ownership of Cranebrook
In 2004 the Howard Government sold the site to a
developer called IFC Capital Ltd for 15
million The site was sold on an as is basis
which loosely means the purchaser inherited all
risks associated with developing the site and
understood the condition of the site including
the conservation significance of the site - at
the time of purchase
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NSW Government should acquire site
This site should be acquired by DECC and
protected as a Regional Park DECC have mapped
Western Sydney and identified the entire site as
a Western Sydney Priority Area for conservation
Conditions attached by Verity Firth, the NSW
Environment Minister, to Biodiversity
Certification of the Growth Centres states that a
530 million conservation fund will be managed by
DECC and some 397 million will be spent
protecting and acquiring Western Sydney Priority
Areas
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Other funding sources
The Australian Government, specifically Peter
Garrett the Federal Environment Minister, have
committed 15 million towards protecting native
vegetation within the Cumberland Conservation
Corridor (CCC). Cranebrook is part of the
CCC. The money is available to add sites to the
National Reserve System (NRS). Organisations
wanting to acquire land for conservation can
apply to the Federal Government for NRS funding.
The Government will provide 2/3s of the funding
with the partner organisation providing the
remainder and committing to manage the land in
perpetuity for nature conservation. NSW DECC
could apply for NRS funding to acquire
Cranebrook. Peter Garretts Dept consider
Cranebrook a suitable NRS site.
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Can IFC develop the land?
IFC Capital Ltd are seeking approval from the NSW
Government to have the site listed on the
Metropolitan Development Program. They want to
develop half the site for some 740 housing
lots The overwhelming environmental constraints
and the developments inability to substantially
meet the eight Metropolitan Strategy
Sustainability Criteria should result in the site
not being MDP listed. The final decision rests
with Cabinet. DECC and DoP are on record
opposing development of the site. DECC have
advised Penrith Council that protection of the
entire site is a priority and DoP wrote to IFC in
2006 stating that the site was not needed to meet
Sydneys housing needs and was deemed an
unsuitable candidate for listing on the MDP
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Can IFC develop the land?
If the site is MDP listed then it needs to be
rezoned by Penrith Council to allow urban
development. If the site is not listed on the MDP
then the land is currently useless for urban
development. If the site is listed on the MDP but
Penrith Council refuse to rezone the land for
housing then the site is useless for urban
development IFC Capital are then left owning
land they cannot develop. Not listing the site on
the MDP should trigger a decision by IFC to sell
the site so that they get some return for their
shareholders They would probably get a bigger
return selling the site than establishing it as a
Biobanking site.
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No excuses not to protect the site
DoP have indicated in 2006 the site is not needed
for Sydney's housing needs DECC has mapped the
entire site a Western Sydney Priority Area for
conservation DECC will manage a 397 million
conservation trust fund to protect and acquire
Western Sydney Priority Areas Peter Garrett has
provided 15 million funding to protect such
areas within the Cumberland Conservation
Corridor 160 hectares of the site is covered in
State and Nationally listed threatened species
and endangered ecological communities Protecting
the site as a Regional Park will provide wins for
the community and the environment and the site
will finally have a proper plan of management.
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Protection of the entire Cranebrook site now
rests with our political leaders. A decision to
allow urban development is totally unnecessary
and will destroy the sites immense natural
heritage values. We have so much to gain from the
protection of this site www.savecranebrook.com 043
1 222602