A longtime opponent of a proposed men’s shed to be built in at an isolated sports field at Black Rocks south of Pottsville says giving the facility a five-year licence to operate there is a devastating blow to local koalas.
Tweed shire councillors last Thursday voted to grant the licence to the Pottsville and District Men’s Shed (Inc.) for the use of the area (mayor Katie Milne and deputy mayor Gary Bagnall against).
Black Rocks resident and koala campaigner Dave Norris says the temporary men’s shed would be built just 20 metres from primary koala habitat and 350 metres inside a koala corridor, ‘which is ‘against recommendations by koala expert Dr Steve Phillips and concerns expressed by the Office of Environment and Heritage’.
Mr Norris said that an alternative centrally-located site for the shed in Pottsville on crown land which had recently been canvassed as a possibility for locating the shed was also ignored by councillors supporting the Black Rocks option.
The proposal for the licence was moved by Cr Warren Polglase and seconded by Cr Barry Longland, and supported by Cr Carolyn Byrne.
A proposed amendment by Crs Milne and Bagnall to defer the item until council considered further advice from the lands department over future requirements by the Rural Fire Service (RFS) and State Emergency Service (SES), which use the crown land site, was also defeated along the same 3-2 vote (Crs Milne and Bagnall in the minority).
Cr Milne later also unsuccessfully moved to bring forward a report to the next council meeting on the proposed future use of the Crown land areas behind the existing RFS and SES ‘and the potential of all parties to work together to provide for a site for the Pottsville Men’s Shed in this location’.
She said this was ‘in accordance with council’s previous resolution of 21 August 2014 “to pursue alternative sites”’ including future development or appropriately zoned sites that could accommodate the men’s shed in the longer term on a permanent basis’.
Mr Norris, a Black Rocks resident who for years has campaigned against the shed, is on Cr Milne’s election ticket for the 29 October poll, as her No. 4 candidate. He spoke against the shed at length during public access before last week’s meeting.
Cr Byrne told Echonetdaily the mayor should have abstained from voting on the issue given the conflict of interest with the candidacy. Cr Milne is yet to respond on whether she should have done so.
A map of the site identified for consideration for a men’s shed at Lot 3 Centennial Drive, Pottsville.
In his access address, Mr Norris, speaking for the Threatened Species Conservation Society which he founded as part of his campaign, challenged a council staff claim, in response to Cr Milne’s notice of motion, that the proposed alternative location in Centennial Drive, Pottsville, ‘does not offer any ecological advantage’.
‘The recently conducted Landmark Ecological Assessment for the Pottsville Community Pre-school extension provides evidence and conclusions that completely contradict this assumption,’ he said.
‘The council report states that “the exact suite of threatened species that were a consideration at Black Rocks occurs at Centennial Drive”’.
He said the Black Rocks sports field site supported koalas, bush stone-curlews and ospreys and was surrounded by core koala habitat and endangered ecological communities
It was also prone to vandalism, and he offered a photo of ’what the Pottsville Men’s Shed can expect if they go to Black Rocks’ (pictured above, the latest act of vandalism to council infrastructure at the sports field).
He urged council to fully investigate the crown land site administered by council.
‘How can we expect to save our endangered koalas from extinction if the recommendations of Dr Steve Phillips and other koala experts are ignored?’
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