WEST YAMBA DEVELOPMENT PLANS

Friday, 08 February 2002 10:00

Total Environment Centre campaigner Fran Kelly said the plan "showed a profound ignorance of the environmental impacts of dredging, filling and destroying such a hazardous location".

"In the year 2002 most people would be aware that the last places capable of sustainable development are flood affected, low lying wetland areas which, in the process of requiring a complete transformation to allow any sort of building, would result in the destruction of water quality, fish and other habitat systems and increase possibility of flooding elsewhere" said Ms Kelly.

"Such an area should not have its planning driven by developer demands dressed up as jobs and progress" said Ms Kelly.

"The land's capability and suitability should drive what goes on as a flood storage area bordered by SEPP 14 wetlands and close to national park and estuaries its residential development capacity is zero. The place should be retained in as natural a state as possible for the long term good of the environment, fishing industry and community, including visitors to the area"

"Even more astounding is the proposal to dredge the ever suffering Clarence River for fill. The river is taking a beating left right and centre from over use, over dumping of pollutants and nutrients through direct and indirect sources - yet here we have a proposal to mess with it even further. The river needs to be protected not degraded. The use of polluted fill would also have negative consequences"