Blue Mountains Gazette covers issued conditions set on Wildlife Park proposal.
There is an article in this week’s Blue Mountains Gazette covering the application to build a Wildlife Park at 10 Great Western Highway Wentworth Falls. It describes how the issuing of the SEARs (Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Regulations) works in the assessment process works.
“The Proposed croc park on Bodington Hill at Wentworth Falls will have to respond to stringent NSW government requirements if it wants to get the go-ahead for its planned multi-million dollar development.”
But will these conditions actually be stringent enough? The Bodington Hill Wildlife Resort Action Group (BHWRAG) will be asking this question in the coming weeks. The group was originally formed to assess a previous wildlife park style proposal by the same proponents. This earlier proposal was eventually rejected by the NSW Department of Planning after the proponents failed to meet a deadline for responding to the SEARs (Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements) issued by the Department to them.
The site is colloquially known by locals as the old “croc park” site because of a 1989 consent for a would-be crocodile park. Many observers cite the various reincarnations of the proposal as a classic “zombie” development because it never dies.
Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) have now been issued for preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Blue Mountains Wildlife Park State significant development application (SSD-79275458) at 10 Great Western Highway Wentworth Falls.
The Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) have now been issued in response to the proponent’s lodging of a scoping report. Some three documents from the NSW Department of Planning are now present on its portal. They include feedback to the Department on the scoping report from other government bodies along with the Rural Fire Service and Blue Mountains City Council. For a complete list flick to this site’s Documents page.
“The subject State Significant Development proposal will flood the western portion of the site with built form and hardstand and, critically, it will extend well into the C2 zoned portion of the site and will not preserve a vegetated buffer between it and the highway. The C2 zoned portion of the site was never intended for development and should be revegetated to re-establish this strategically and ecologically important piece of bushland between the towns of Bullaburra and Wentworth Falls.” (Blue Mountains City Council submission to the SEAR’s process Feb 2025)
The next step in the assessment process will see the proponents responding to the Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) requirements by drafting an Environmental Impact Statement and a State Significant Development proposal. These will then be exhibited for public submissions.
Residents worry that the proposed Blue Mountains Wildlife Park will make it more difficult for them to navigate the Tablelands Road T-junction with the Great Western Highway at Wentworth Falls.
The developers are now wanting patrons to exit the proposed park by turning left (and thus west) up the hilly Great Western Highway in a direction away from Sydney.
This means that patrons, including bus and coach tours wanting to go to Sydney, will have to first turn left at the Tablelands Road t-junction. They would then have to use the bus turn-around facility there to come back out onto the highway at the t-junction.
The other option they have is to bypass the t-junction and continue further on west and then turn into Old Bathurst Road at the signalised intersection. But I’m betting that a lot of these drivers will attempt to make a u-turn at the first available left turn they encounter – and that’s the Tablelands Rd t-junction that me and my neighbours use.
Most locals will probably agree with me that it is often a gut-clenching moment attempting to turn right fr om Tableland Rd on to the highway towards Sydney. You have to stop at the t-junction, wait till there’s a break in the 80klm an hour-plus traffic coming up the hill to your right, then quickly scan to your left to make sure no-one’s approaching in the closest lane going east, and then move across to the slip lane in the middle of the highway.
But that’s where you know that it can all go wrong. The problem can be other cars approaching from the west and intending to use the slip lane to turn right into Tablelands Road against your own intended right turn. These drivers are supposed to have right of way over you, which local residents know very well and stay alert to. But visitors often either seem to forget it or they become distracted by the anxiety of the timing needed to reach the slip road and forget to scan to the left for turning cars.
I have often witnessed a car turning from the highway via the slip lane across to Tablelands Road suddenly find itself braking to avoid hitting a distracted driver trying to do the opposite manoeuvre. You can then have a situation where two cars have both come to a sudden halt facing each other across the highway as west bound traffic speeds towards both of them.
And any suggestion signalizing the Tablelands Road intersection to improve safety for park patrons is not going to be supported by Transport for NSW who have already rejected a previous proposal to put lights a littler further down at the site itself. The department said that installing traffic signals to control access to the site would disrupt efficient high speed traffic flow on the highway and increase risks to road user safety. So I ask why should users of this key linking highway be asked to take on increased safety risks so someone can run a resort catering to patrons who want to cavort with exotic creatures in the Blue Mountains?
I have no doubt that encouraging the future patrons of an approved Blue Mountains Wildlife Park to attempt turn-arounds at the Tablelands Rd t-junction intersection will only exacerbate the present stress and road safety risks.
Murray Matson, Spokesperson: Bodington Hill Wildlife Resort Action Group (BHWRAG)
The proposal for a Bodington Hill Wildlife Park may now not proceed.
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 Environmental Impact Statement 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.
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 Environmental Impact Statement 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.
Mr 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
QUOTE “The Bodington Hill Wildlife Resort Action Group [BHWRAG] has been meeting regularly since April. They are urging residents to view the plans for the Blue Mountains Wildlife and Tourism Development proposed in an environmental conservation zone” (Blue Mountains Gazette 6-6-2023 – Anti croc park action group formed – Bodington Hill Wildlife Resort Action Group)
Does NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully have the power to revoke State Significant Development Status from the Bodington Hill Wildlife Resort proposal?
Does NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully have the power to revoke State Significant Development Status from the Bodington Hill Wildlife Resort proposal?
The “Blue Mountains Wildlife and Tourism Development” (SSD-14793297) project will diminish an area of Blue Mountains bushland.
This how you can contact the NSW Minister for Planning Paul Scully if you want to protect the E2 Environmental and Conservation Zone at Bodington Hill.
To contact him in his capacity as Minister you need to use the link to the ONLINE FORM below. DO NOT USE HIS WOLLONGONG CONTACT EMAIL.
Fill in your details and attach any letter (preferably as a PDF) to the relevant part of the form.
In the SUBJECT box you could write words to the effect that you are requesting the Minister to revoke the State Significant Development status of Blue Mountains Wildlife and Tourism Development SSD-14793297 – or whatever you want to use as your subject. There are many reasons why this proposal should be opposed.
Tick the box that will appear when you attach your letter.
There is also another box that you can tick to indicate you would like a response.
Click on SUBMIT.
You will then receive an automated email with all the info you supplied on the form and also showing that you attached a document.
Anti wildlife resort banner at Bodington Hill, Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains
A new resident action group called BHWRAG is responding to the contentious proposal to build a huge resort style development in an environmental conservation zone at Wentworth Falls’ Bodington Hill.
A spokesperson said that: “The Bodington Hill Wildlife Resort Action Group (BHWRAG) will provide voice and advice for residents wanting to have input into the Government’s State Significant Development decision making process.
Residents are alarmed that their elected representatives on the Blue Mountains City Council are cut out of making the final decision on this proposal.”
BHWRAG is urging residents to officially register their interest in the Government’s assessment by visiting its planning portal and clicking ‘Notify Me’.
