Government Urged to Rewrite Development Strategy to Stop Destruction of Hallidays Point

Thursday, 04 July 2002 10:00

Hallidays Point - a moratorium on all rezoning and inappropriate developments occurring under the Hallidays Point Development Strategy and rewrite of the strategy to reflect environmental and coastal protection - is required.

 The NSW Government has been urged to place a moratorium on all rezoning and inappropriate developments occurring under the Hallidays Point Development Strategy and to rewrite the strategy to reflect environmental and coastal protection.

Total Environment Centre campaigner Fran Kelly made the call because of Greater Taree Council's "one-sided attitude towards the Strategy by allowing every piece of land identified for release to be rezoned for development while ignoring environmentally significant land,"
"Added together, the actions by Taree Council towards the Strategy in recent years has been a joke. When it comes to development it treats the Strategy as a sacred cow, but when it comes to environmental protection it ignores it" said Ms Kelly

"In other words, no matter how many environmentally friendly sounding statements are coming out of council, they are following one rule for speculative landowners and developers and another for the environment and existing residential amenity,"

"The absolutely inappropriate North Redhead development is one example of where unquestioned support for development proposed under the Strategy has been given despite being contrary to the NSW Coastal Policy. While the approval of development of environmentally significant land such as along Tallwoods Drive is another example of this two-faced policy," said Ms Kelly.

"We have requested the Planning Minister step in and stop the clock with regard to rezoning and inappropriate developments in Hallidays Point while the Strategy is rewritten to put coastal and environmental protection and residential amenity first, rather than the demands of speculative landowners and developers," said Ms Kelly.

"If the Strategy is to be followed, it had better be a Strategy that is based on sustainability not speculation," she said.