EXCLUSIVE
A furious row has broken out over an Aboriginal Land Council’s plan to build 450 new homes at a bushland haven for native wildlife and ancient art.
The $1billion development has infuriated residents on Sydney’s northern beaches, where the average house costs $2million-plus.
They are shocked the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council is pushing to build homes at Lizard Rock near Belrose, over what had been presumed to be a significant site of indigenous culture and history.
The local council and the federal MP for the area oppose the sell-off, and most locals are fiercely opposed but fear speaking out about the development – across the equivalent of 45 football fields – in case they are branded racists for standing up to the Aboriginal council.
‘If it was anyone else, I’m sure this would be thrown out immediately and scrapped forever,’ said one local from nearby Cromer.
‘But because it’s the Land Council which is the developer, no-one feels they can really stand up against it without their motives being questioned.’
They are shocked the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council is pushing to build homes over the equivalent of 45 football pitches of bush at Lizard Rock near Belrose
Locals warn the development area (pictured) is a bushfire risk
The land, just 20 minutes from Sydney’s CBD, is home to wallabies and other native wildlife, and boasts ocean views across Collaroy and Narrabeen beaches.
It features ancient art including a large grey kangaroo etching and footprints carved into the landscape close to the natural landmark which gives the area its name – Lizard Rock.
In 2013, the Aboriginal land council had proposed turning the 71-hectare site into an Aboriginal-owned national park.
But a decade later they are seeking the green light to send in the bulldozers and transform the bushland it into a high-impact housing estate.
The land council have said the massive profits from their sell-off will be put into projects intended to support Aboriginal communities, including social housing.
They insist the development will protect the ancient Aboriginal sites within the bounds of the housing estate, and 19.8hectares of bush will remain as conservation areas.
MLALC CEO Nathan Moran (pictured) previously said opposition to the development was ‘akin to racism and paternalism’
Northern Beaches Council has rejected the plan and refused to participate in the planning process over concerns they would be railroaded into approving it under existing legislation.
‘The new homes would be built in precious bushland and residents would face extreme bushfire risk,’ Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Heins told Daily Mail Australia.
‘This proposal lacks merit due to the significant planning, environmental and hazard issues.
‘Council has repeatedly advised NSW Planning Department the proposal does not demonstrate strategic or site-specific merit and should be rejected.’
The former NSW government had also vowed to block the proposal but lost power in the March state election.
‘The concerns raised by the community in relation to bushfire, critical infrastructure and density of the application cannot be overlooked,’ said a Coalition spokesman.
Such opposition triggered accusations of ‘racism’ and ‘paternalism’ by the land council’s CEO, Nathan Moran.
‘There has been a lot of misinformation about our proposal,’ he said in September.
‘This land was previously farmland, agricultural land and housed an extraction quarry at some stage.’
The council has renamed the area Patyegarang in their planning proposal, after saying Lizard Rock – which gave its name to the area – has no cultural significance.
The MLALC has changed the name of the area from Lizard Rock to Patyegarang which local state MP Michael Regan (pictured) says is ironic
It features ancient art including a large grey kangaroo etching (outlined above) and footprints carved into the landscape close to the Lizard Rock which gives the area its name
The new name means grey kangaroo and was given to a woman elder who was believed to be the first local to teach an Aboriginal language to early British colonists.
Michael Regan, the former Northern Beaches Mayor, ran for the local state seat of Wakehurst in March on the back of his opposition to the development and was successful as an independent, beating the Liberals who had held the seat for 40 years.
He says the name change is a ‘PR exercise’ and only served to highlight why the development should be blocked.
‘This is an outrageous plan to rezone beautiful bushland, clear 45 football fields of native trees, in a known fire zone in Belrose,’ he said.
The proposal has now gone to an independent planning panel set up by the previous state government, with public submissions closing on November 7th.
Its ancient history was once prized by the MLALC which wanted to turn the 71-hectare site into an Aboriginal-owned national park in 2013
The MLALC say the development will include a cultural centre, with this artist’s impression as a suggestion of the finished design
Local federal MP Sophie Scamps, a Teal, is also against the development, which opponents say will impact the environment, traffic, infrastructure, open space, bushfire danger and Aboriginal heritage.
The land council took ownership of the land under the Land Rights Act. Its Land Rights Unit researches and makes claims on vacant crown land within greater Sydney.
‘This work has enabled Metro to become the largest single landholder in a number of Sydney local government areas,’ the council proudly boasts on its website.
But one local slammed development plans for Lizard Rock as a cash grab.
‘Noel Pearson said in his speech to the National Press Club last week that, “Nobody lost any land” under the Native Title Act,’ the resident said.
‘Try telling that to locals around here. We just see us losing this beautiful bushland in a cynical ploy to develop it into prime real estate.’
The planning proposal includes building design concepts for the bushland development, which vary from large to small
A local campaign opposing the development has attracted more than 12,000 signatures and forced the issue to be debated in the state parliament
Ancient etchings carved into the landscape are dotted around the bushland site
NSW Planning Department said an independent consultant will submit a report to the planning panel based on all the public submissions during the current consultation process.
‘The panel will then make a recommendation to the department on whether the proposal should be finalised and, if so, in what form,’ said a spokesman.
‘The Minister, or the department as the Minister’s delegate, will make the final determination for the planning proposal.’
The timeline for the final decision is open-ended, depending on the community feedback and the issues it may raise with the proposal.
Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council declined to comment and referred all enquiries to their development website.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk