Hills Mayor calls for Cumberland State Forest to be a national park as Mirvac decision looms
With a decision on the Mirvac proposal for the old IBM site in West Pennant Hills imminent, Hills Shire Mayor Michelle Byrne is urgently calling on the State Government to reclassify Cumberland State Forest as a national park.
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Hills Shire Mayor Michelle Byrne is urgently calling on the State Government to reclassify the Cumberland State Forest to a National Park as a decision on a Mirvac proposal for part of the forest is expected this week.
The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment announced it was fast-tracking the decision on the high density proposal at 55 Coonara Ave, in West Pennant Hills as part of the Planning Assessment Acceleration Scheme.
The Mirvac proposal, which backs onto the Cumberland State Forest at the former IBM site, is one of 24 ‘shovel ready’ projects under consideration in the second tranche of the Scheme – a program designed to kickstart the NSW economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cr Byrne said the Cumberland State Forest is the largest metropolitan forest in the country and is home to an array of threatened flora and fauna species as well as two threatened ecological communities.
“More than ever before, we need to protect our local green spaces as we take on more of Sydney’s housing growth,” she said.
“Cumberland is the only urban forest in Australia and boasts an abundance of birdlife, as well as rare native flora and fauna.
“Council would like to see the ownership of the Cumberland State Forest transferred to the National Parks and Wildlife Service to protect this pristine forest, which is loved by residents from the Hills and across the region.
Cr Byrne praised the NSW Government on working on ways to get the economy moving again but hoped the department would back the council’s view to reject the proposal.
“Unless Mirvac has resolved the inherent fundamental problems with its Coonara proposal, Council will continue to stand by its decision,” Mayor Byrne said.
“We’ve raised concerns about the lack of infrastructure in place to support a development of this kind. Other concerns include the knock-on effects it will have including increased demand on local health services, schools, and existing recreational and community facilities which are already beyond capacity.
The Hills Shire Times has repeatedly asked Baulkham Hills MP David Elliott for comment on the Mirvac proposal.
Mr Elliott has failed to respond to any of our attempts for comment.
The Liberal MP did support the push for the Cumberland State Forest to become a national park in September last year.
Mirvac has rejected criticism of its proposal as based on “misinformation”.
Senior development manager Amanda Blake says she wants to make it clear to the community Mirvac has no intention of destroying the forest.
“We are not destroying the forest, you can see from the historic images, that from day one we recognised all the remnant forest was so special so all the building and any bushfire zones we need are outside that remnant forest,” she said.
A spokesperson for the office of Deputy Premier John Barilaro said there were “no plans to convert Cumberland State Forest to a national park”.
“A proposed high-rise development which is creating some local community concern is on adjoining land which is privately owned - not on State Forest land,” the spokesperson said.
“Any change in tenure of Cumberland State Forest would have no bearing on that proposed development.”