Eurobodalla launches 'All Kinds of Natural' - watch new TV ad here

We have a great opportunity to make the tourist potential of the South Coast … “The Kakadu of the South Coast” with all its natural waterways, forests and secluded beaches. Instead we have the Eurobodalla Shire Council (ESC) hell-bent on destroying that with their extreme Rural Lands Planning Proposal (ERLPP). Close your eyes for 10-20 years and then wake up to exclaim … how did that get ruined! The answer will be the ERLPP.

The planning proposal could lead to over 1,800 new dwellings spread across the entire Rural landscape, including heavily forested areas that have a high bushfire risk. Urban areas are for significantly increased dwellings … not the rural lands.

Many developments would require 100m clearing for 10kw Asset Protection Zones (APZ’s). That means about 3.3 ha of clearing is required for a NSW average sized new home. With sheds on it then it would be 4.6 ha. This will eventually result in large areas cleared in many of the heavily forested high conservation areas of the shire.

The number of dwellings is not the final extent of changes in the ERLPP. What seems to have been not fully appreciated is the ERLPP potentially allows for an increased large range of facilities and constructions in the rural zones such as the following and much, much more: Group Homes; Educational Establishments; Child Care Centre; Seniors Housing; Respite Centre; Health Services Facility; Tourist accommodation facility; Function Centres; Entertainment Facility; Place of Public Worship; Home occupation sex services; Exhibition homes and villages; Funeral houses; Health service facilities; Storage premises; Water recreation structures; Warehouse and distribution centres; Waste or resource management facilities; Wholesale suppliers; Cemeteries; Correction centres; Crematoria; Electricity generating establishments.

These land uses are mostly appropriate for in or near Urban areas … not spread through the Rural lands. The rejection and subsequent challenging of expensive DA’s will lead to numerous legal battles because of the unrealistic development expectations suggested by the 84 RU1 land use possibilities and 75 RU4 land use possibilities. As a result, inappropriate DA’s could be forced through and the subsequent clearing, runoff and pollution will impact many of our pristine waterways and environment.

ESC has a poor record in following up non-compliance by landholders and developers who do not co-operate, as many recent examples demonstrate. The bushfire risks, alienation of prime agricultural land, water security and environmental impacts of all these additional land use constructions and tourist-filled facilities in these Rural zones have been a great concern for 6 state agencies. The need for very large 10kw APZ’s in High Conservation Value (HCV) land will undermine RFS and OEH key objectives of protection of environmental assets.

We need to insist that the specific concerns of the 6 State agencies are accepted. We need sensible planning that learns from the few isolated mistakes with the previous E3 proposals without throwing everything out to make room for the current extreme Rural Lands Planning Proposal. The ESC has failed to resolve the concerns of the RFS and the OEH and makes no attempt to address the concerns of DPI Fisheries, DPI Agriculture, DPI Water, Local Land Services, the oyster industry

Not really the whole story unfortunately. Check out the trashed forests just north of Mogo on the eastern side of the highway or take a short drive along Buckenbowra Road on the western side of the highway just south of Mogo.
Trashing our tourism potential.