New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

WOLLONDILLY LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN 1991 - REG 49

49 Environmentally significant land

(1) This clause applies to all land shown on the environmentally significant land map with diagonal hatching and specified in Schedule 7.

(2) The objectives of designating land as environmentally significant land and for development of that land are as follows:

(a) to identify environmentally significant land, and

(b) to maintain biodiversity, and

(c) to retain and enhance the natural functions of riparian corridors, and

(d) to provide for controlled pedestrian and bicycle access to, and sensitively integrated fire trails on, such land, and

(e) to allow for controlled recreational uses having regard to environmentally significant values of the land, and

(f) to protect items and places of Aboriginal heritage significance, and

(g) to enable the appropriate location on such land of gas drainage infrastructure required for underground coal mining, having regard to environmentally significant values of the land, and to ensure that such infrastructure is designed in accordance with industry best practice guidelines, where existing.

(3) Before granting consent to the carrying out of development on land to which this clause applies, the consent authority must be satisfied that the development:

(a) would substantially retain existing vegetation, and

(b) would not adversely affect to a significant extent:

(i) the ecological value of the existing bushland vegetation, or

(ii) native fauna, or

(iii) the scenic qualities of the locality.

(4) Before granting consent to the carrying out of development on land to which this clause applies, the consent authority must consider whether:

(a) the locality has high biological diversity, and

(b) the locality contains:

(i) a disjunct population of native species or a species that is near the limit of its geographic range, or

(ii) riparian vegetation, or

(iii) vegetation associated with wetlands, and

(c) the land has connective importance as, or as part of, a corridor of bushland forming a connection that allows for the potential passage of species of flora or fauna between two or more areas of bushland, and

(d) the vegetation is adequately represented on land in the general locality, and

(e) the land is important as a site along a migratory route for wildlife, and

(f) the land functions as an important drought refuge for wildlife, and

(g) clearing of the land would be likely to contribute significantly to:

(i) soil erosion, or

(ii) salinisation of soil or water, or

(iii) acidification of soil, or

(iv) landslip, or

(v) deterioration in the quality of surface or ground water, or

(vi) increased flooding, or

(h) there is any need to conserve all or some of the bushland because:

(i) of its unusually good condition or its significance as a sample of its type, or

(ii) the development will increase the perimeter of the bushland, and so the ratio of the boundary to the area of the bushland, making it more vulnerable to negative impacts, or

(iii) there is an archaeological site that has Aboriginal heritage significance on the land.

(5) Consent must not be granted to development on land to which this clause applies for the purpose of gas drainage infrastructure required for underground coal mining unless:

(a) the consent authority is satisfied, after consultation with the Department of Primary Industries, and taking into account the environmentally significant values of the land, that the location of the infrastructure is appropriate, and

(b) the consent authority is satisfied that the design of the infrastructure is in accordance with industry best practice guidelines, where existing.