Blue Mountain residents learnt today that the NSW Government will not allow the proponent of the unpopular “Croc Park” proposal to make wide-ranging changes to a key component of their planning process.
The proponent now can’t amend the project’s current SEARs document which defines and restricts the scope of their still-to-be lodged Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). And time is running quickly out.
Residents are “cautiously optimistic” because the current SEARs expires very soon on the 1st of July. This means that the proponents effectively have only till the 30th June to lodge and EIS. Without a lodged EIS the proposal can’t be put on public exhibition or otherwise advanced further.
“The key issues for the proposal have not changed as a result of the amendments. As such, the SEARs previously issued on 17 March 2021 for the proposed development are considered appropriate for the staged development. These SEARs will expire on 1 July 2023.” (Department of Planning & Environment letter to proponent 28-6-2023)
Resident spokesperson Murray Matson from the Bodington Hill Wildlife Resort Action Group Inc (BHWRAG) stated today:
“It’s great news and we should be cautiously optimistic but BHWRAG advises the community that the battle isn’t over yet! In theory the proponents still have till the 30th of June to lodge some sort of EIS based on the current SEARs parameters. They also still have an existing consent for an earlier incarnation of the project.”
He also noted that it was not uncommon in NSW for failed applicants to initiate legal action in the Land and Environment Court.
Matson said that the BHWRAG group would meet tomorrow night to work out an ongoing strategy in response to the news of today.
Contact Murray Matson Spokesperson – Bodington Hill Wildlife Resort Action Group Inc spokesperson@bhwrag.info
