Blue Mountains News

The proposal for a multi-million dollar wildlife park on the Great Western Highway at Wentworth Falls is being treated as a State Significant Development (SSD), meaning it will not need to comply with local planning frameworks.

The applicant for the development requested an amendment to the Planning Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) to conduct the development in stages, with the first stage to enable works including site clearing, bulk earthwork and construction of internal roads.

The DPE rejected the request, and the applicant now has until 1 July to lodge a development application and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). If the applicant fails to lodge the paperwork by this deadline, there would be no prospect of a DA under the current process and the process would need to start over again.

Mayor, Cr. Mark Greenhill, said: “Council and the community have raised many concerns over this proposed development, and we have fought hard to protect our local environment from this gross overdevelopment of a sensitive site.

“The proposal is a breach of local environment plans and involves the clearing of protected bushland and encroachment into an Environmental Protection zone. The plans also exceed building height limits and would impact on the scenic values of the Blue Mountains.

“In a letter to the applicant, the DPE said, given the significance of concerns raised by Council, Transport for NSW, and the Environment and Heritage Group regarding the proposed amended layout and site access arrangements, the Department strongly recommends the applicant consider revising the design of their proposal before submitting a new request for SEARs.

“This is good news for our community and for Council’s long-established planning goal of protecting land between towns. We will continue to oppose this development, which would have a negative impact on the local environment.”

Trish Doyle added, “This development proposal is, and has always been, ludicrous on so many levels. I welcome this recent decision in the Department’s planning assessment process. Next week I will welcome the Minister to the Mountains in order to hear my community’s concerns”.