Letter to Council objecting to the proposed development at 20 Laycock St, Carey - DA 1274/2013

LMCC

Box 1906

Hunter Region Mail Centre NSW 2310

council@lakemac.nsw.gov.au

Ref DA/1274/2013

To whom it may concern,

I object to DA 1274/2013 on the following grounds.

Our local environment is suffering from death by a thousand cuts. This development has the potential to be the straw that breaks the corridor’s back, compromising the options available for wildlife movement.

The scale and bulk of the development is excessive for the local community context. The site plan shows minimal green or community space. 

The Tree Protection plan only protects trees on adjacent blocks. There are concerns about destabilising  the root structures of these trees. No trees are left on the site.

Vehicle access to the site is adjacent to the preschool. Traffic movements around the preschool will be increased compromising safety and parking. Access by service vehicles appears to be problematic.

Stormwater management both entering and exiting the site does not appear to be sufficient for the hard surfaces or reflect the the drainage patterns in the catchment. The site is currently providing ecosystem services such as carbon storage, filtering surface water, and assimilating pollutants. The geotechnical report states “The broad gully that dissects the site is composed of loose to medium dense water charged gravelly sand and clayey sand to depths of upto 1.7m (but generally less than 0.5m)”. The DA proposes removal and recompaction or replacement with engineered filling. 

Personal privacy for residents and neighbours appears minimal with lake-facing decks providing the outdoor entertaining areas and minimal ‘backyards’ 3m from adjacent neighbours.

View corridors for aged residents in the care facilities will be compromised. There are recognised mental health benefits provided by tree and vegetation cover. Additionally the daily environment of the  preschool children will be altered and dominated by the structural mass of the development. 

The recent release of the 5^th Report by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states more extreme weather and changing rainfall patterns will occur. Corridors will be vital to allow wildlife to continue to move across the landscape.  This is an opportunity to make a stand for corridor sympathetic development.

Two threatened insectivorous bat species are present of the site. The loss of 0.6ha of habitat will fragment and isolate the remaining habitat almost severing the corridor connection that exists on the Coal Point peninsula.

I urge Council to demand a more sustainable development that exemplifies best practice and provides long term viability for the corridor and the community of Carey Bay-Coal Point.

Yours sincerely

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