Community members in Witchcliffe say despite the publicity around the future of old-growth trees in a new subdivision, they remain seriously concerned.
The Friends of the Witchcliffe Forest earlier this year targeted a new subdivision off Redgate Road amid fears for scores of old trees they claim are between 150 and 300 years old which were in the bulldozers’ sights and would allegedly destroy habitat for native red-tailed black cockatoos.
After Friends’ hard campaign, the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River and the developers of Witchcliffe Forest Estate brokered a solution to redraw some lot boundaries and move internal roads, declaring up to 200 subject trees would be saved.
And while a spokesperson for the developers this week said that remained the case, Friends spokespersons Caralynn Hoft and Pernille Stent said they were unconvinced at the trumpeted outcome.
They were yet to see confirmation of the plans, had no details on which specific trees would be saved, and most of all were yet to see any community engagement from the Perth-based developers.
“The six lots we wanted omitted from development have been turned into three significantly larger lots and the access road shortened,” Ms Stent said.
“Only a small sliver of land of these initial six lots has been put back to conservation, with the majority of the land still to be sold as residential lots.”
Decisions around the estate were informed by a consultant’s environmental management plan the Friends considered inadequate because it did not recognise the site as an important cockatoo habitat.
Protesters wanted solid plans to save the imperilled cockatoos and plans put in place to protect the trees in perpetuity.
The developer’s spokesperson told the Times the estate’s environmental consultant identified some potential cockatoo habitat trees which were now among those to be protected.
The developer stood by the changes made to protect the trees and their protection was enshrined in State and local government planning documents regardless of future ownership.
The 200 trees were in conservation and public open space blocks, they said.
Shire sustainable development and infrastructure director Nick Logan said the local government was satisfied the project had faced assessment by State and Federal environmental agencies as well as the WA Planning Commission.
“The Shire would support the provision of additional flora and fauna information by the developer if required under any environmental review process initiated by either State or Federal agencies,” he said.
“Additional trees were able to be preserved because of the modified plan, which is a great outcome and one which can largely be attributed to the perseverance of community campaigners and compromise on the part of the proponent.”
But the campaigners felt the substance was lacking in the previous “feelgood” announcement.
“If the Shire has stated that they have been actively engaging with the local community, I can state that this is incorrect,” Ms Stent said.
“We, as a part of the local community, have been raising concerns consistently and we have been the ones reaching out to the Shire and other stakeholders to try to get information on the current affairs.”
Ms Hoft said the environmental study was flawed in finding insufficient evidence of cockatoos on the site.
“We will not give up our fight while the trees are still standing and the development makes a mockery of the Shire’s ‘sustainability’ credentials,” she said.
More than half of the lots at the estate are already sold and further works are expected after winter.