Fears about removal of 600 trees from Royal Sydney Golf Club grounds
One of Sydney’s premier golf clubs has come under fire for its plans to cut nearly 600 mature trees on the course.
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A campaign group is fighting Royal Sydney Golf Course’s plan to cut down nearly 600 trees, describing the proposal as “appalling”.
Last month the famous Rose Bay course unveiled $17 million revamp plans.
The proposal for the 57 hectare course includes reconfiguring the Championship course into two loops of nine holes while removing 569 trees.
The trees were “reaching the end of their safe life expectancy”, the plans state and the areas would be returned to pre-European heathland.
In place of the felled trees would be 703 new trees and 500,000 shrubs.
But the Save the Trees Rose Bay group is fighting the proposal.
A post on the group’s Facebook page calls the Royal Sydney Golf Club “one of the lungs of the eastern suburbs”, while pushing for locals to pressure council to stop the chainsawing of “1/4 of (their) existing canopy”.
“The ‘transition will see hundreds of trees and habitat being lost, large dusty earthworks and barren soil, all for a marginal aesthetic preference,” the group states.
“These old trees store more carbon than young trees, they clean the air and keep our neighbourhood cool.
“90% of the trees facing destruction are natives, 70% with a life expectancy of 50+ years.”
Save the Trees member Charlotte Faunce added: “In the wake of this month’s bush fires and Sydney’s poor air quality, this is nothing short of appalling.
“Sydney needs to keep every tree it has, especially mature healthy trees.”
The club has said the large-scale works are needed to amend poor drainage, dated irrigation systems, weed infested greens and aged cart paths.
Pipes are also blocking some tree roots.
A club spokesman said the new trees “will be better positioned away from the playing areas and drainage problem spots”.
“The Club’s proposed native landscape will result in a broadened biodiversity through a dramatic increase in the variety and quantity of native plant species and the consequent attraction of insects, birds and animals,” the spokesman said.
It will “become a sanctuary for native fauna in the Eastern Suburbs”.
The Golf Club, in use since 1893, currently includes an 18-hole and a 9-hole course.
The plans, designed by renowned golf architect Gil Hanse, aim to transform the course from a heavily manicured “parkland” course to a more “natural links” course.
“The proposed landscape will be of the character that existed on the site prior to European settlement and prior to the 1940s tree planting program which saw the golf course changed to a parkland style,” the development application reads.
“Insensitive 1940s works removed the original ground plane flora of wild heathland and grassland vegetation which succumbed to the effects of shade and competition of these introduced non-indigenous tree plantings.”
If the plans are approved, the private course will be closed for 12 months between April 2021 to 2022.
The development proposal is on exhibition until December 5.