What is the issue?
The proposed Biodiversity layer in the draft Northern Beaches LEP and DCP burdens land. The supporting information identifies inconsistencies between the biodiversity mapping proposed by Council and biodiversity mapping published by the Director, Remote Sensing and Landscape Science at the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Why does WUFA disagree?
WUFA’s position is that any map that burdens land must be supported by uncontradictory facts. Where a landowner objects to a biodiversity burden, further investigation should be undertaken. Where the NSW Government has carried out site inspections to ground-truth biodiversity mapping, that ground-truthed mapping should be used in the Northern Beaches LEP and DCP.
Key points
- The supporting information compares the proposed Northern Beaches biodiversity mapping with NSW Government biodiversity mapping.
- It uses 2593 Bundaleer Street Belrose and 216 and 218 Forest Way Belrose as an example.
- Following NSW Government site inspections and analysis, the biodiversity mapping was amended to exclude those three properties from biodiversity mapping.
- The supporting information states that this outcome is inconsistent with the biodiversity mapping proposed in the Northern Beaches LEP and DCP.
WUFA recommendation
Ensure biodiversity mapping that burdens land is supported by reliable evidence. Where a landowner objects to mapped biodiversity constraints, further investigation should be carried out, and where the NSW Government has ground-truthed biodiversity mapping through site inspection and analysis, that mapping should be reflected in the Northern Beaches LEP and DCP.