Plan for Aboriginal land redevelopment at Belrose, Frenchs Forest, Oxford Falls opposed by council
A push to allow Aboriginal land to be redeveloped at Belrose, Frenchs Forest and Oxford Falls has been opposed by Northern Beaches Council.
Manly
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Northern Beaches Council has slammed a proposal by the state government to allow an Aboriginal land council to redevelop what the council described as environmentally-sensitive bushfire prone land.
The Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council wants to include a 450-home residential subdivision and an industrial estate as part to the redevelopment of six parcels of land it owns at Belrose, Frenchs Forest and Oxford Falls.
But in its submission to the draft Northern Beaches Aboriginal Land Development Delivery Plan (DDP), put out for public comment by the NSW Planning Department, the council said the proposal was “inappropriate”.
It said the DDP had to “reconsidered in light of numerous and significant environmental and bushfire issues”.
The council also had “a number of serious concerns relating to the process and review of work so far, environmental impacts on threatened species, wetlands, waterways and core habitat, and, bushfire risk and infrastructure issues.”
In a statement Mayor Michael Regan urged the government to go back to the drawing board and “revisit the proposal in its entirety”.
“There must be alternative ways the NSW Government can support Aboriginal self-determination than facilitating inappropriate development,” Mr Regan said.
At a council meeting on Tuesday night, Mr Regan, suggested that either the state or federal government buy up the land, give the money to the land council, and preserve it.
But other councillors argued that the land council had the right to determine the future of land that it owns, including transforming it into residential subdivisions.
Planning Minister Anthony Roberts said last month the DDP would help Aboriginal people “fulfil potential economic benefits from their land”.
The land Council owns a total of 912 hectares locally, across nine separate land holdings.
As part of the DDP, 450 homes would be built on a 71ha bushland site at Belrose known locally as “Lizard Rock”.
Other sites being examined for potential residential development in the next two to five years include land around Corymbia Ct at Oxford Falls and near Paxton St, Poulton Pde and Weardon Rd at Frenchs Forest.
Land on Aquatic Dr at Frenchs Forest could potentially be used for recreation or community facilities while a block at Ralston Ave, Belrose could accommodate warehousing and data centres.
On its website the Planning Department wrote: “A planning proposal being prepared for the (Lizard Rock) site proposes about 450 low- to medium-density homes, a cultural community centre and protection of Aboriginal carvings and other heritage sites.”
Greens councillor Miranda Korzy told the meeting that the land council advised her that it was angry that discussions about the future of the land its owns were taking place without its input.
“They’re upset that people who don’t own that land are now trying to make decisions about their land,” Ms Korzy said.
The land council’s CEO Nathan Moran has said he DDP was an “extremely positive step towards using our land to deliver economic outcomes for our community as envisaged by the Aboriginal Land Rights Act”.
See the draft Development Delivery Plan here.
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