Davistown Wetlands sale public meeting packed
Hundreds of people turned out to a public meeting at Davistown last night to discuss the sale of rare wetlands for possible development.
Central Coast
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Hundreds of people turned out to a public meeting at Davistown last night to discuss the sale of rare wetlands for development.
More than 19.2 hectares of land — which real estate agents are saying is worth as much as $124 million — will be auctioned on October 24 in Sydney.
Six parcels of land — containing endangered estuarine saltmarsh — are listed for sale under the name “Tidal Shoals” and described in promotional material as an “opportunity for an astute investor or syndicate”
The blocks are in Lillipilli St, Pine Ave, Kincumber Cres, and Malinya Rd.
There was standing room only at Davistown Progress Hall with concerned residents lining up to enter and some people having to stand outside the building.
Newly elected Central Coast Council mayor Jane Smith and councillor Jeff Sundstrom attended the meeting along with the owner of the land, Central Coast businessman Tony Altavilla.
In a meeting that at times became heated, residents raised a number of concerns about the environmental impacts of loss of the wetlands as well as the physical impacts on local infrastructure of increased population on the peninsula which has only one road in and out.
Mayor Jane Smith addressed the meeting, but said unable to give any “significant commitments” about the future of the land.
“I just want to tell you that I share your concerns about these wetlands and certainly in an ideal world I would love
to see them in long term public ownership,” she said.
She said council purchase of the lands for the Coastal Open Space system was not necessarily an option because there was a rigorous process and because any purchase would involve public money.
“Council can’t be held to ransom either — we are dealing with public money — we can’t just pay for whatever somebody
wants for this land,” Cr Smith said.
“So if there is an option to purchase it is a negotiated process — not a guaranteed purchase — council has to be
responsible in its use of public money,” she said.
Meeting convener Jo-Anne Lloyd said the purpose of the meeting was not to stop the land sale, but to ensure that the current environmental and rural land zonings were not overturned in the future.
“The owner has the right to sell the land — that’s not the point,” she said.
“The point of the meeting is to make a joint effort to ensure that current zoning of the wetlands will not ben changed,” she said.
A Save Davo Wetlands committee has been formed and will meet for the first time next week to discuss strategies to ensure protection of the wetlands.
Mrs Lloyd said the group was also concerned that local roads and infrastructure could not cope with large scale residential development of the wetlands were allowed to be developed.
Among the options the group will pursue are getting a guarantee from Central Coast Council that zonings would not be changed, and getting the State Government to purchase the land to be added to the region’s Coastal Open Space Scheme.