Port Stephens residents fighting a proposed development on a former school site in the Mambo Wetlands have been given some welcome news.
The developer behind a proposal to build a duplex on the site has decided to withdraw his development application.
It clears the way for a more permanent solution for the site, which could now be compulsorily acquired by council.
The state government has previously acknowledged the sale of the land in the first place was a mistake.
Councillor Jamie Abbott has announced she will move a motion at the next council meeting in December to acquire the site as a reserve, with the state government to foot the bill.
"I want the site returned to public ownership and included within a new consolidated Mambo Reserve to be protected and managed by Council," she says.
"To achieve this, I've put forward a motion at the next Council meeting so that we can recognise the high biodiversity value of the Wetlands, and the community's aspiration to see all underdeveloped blocks protected under a consolidated reserve," she continues.
"I want Council to negotiate the acquisition of the land (being the NSW Department of Education school site within the Mambo Wetlands).
"I want to see an updated management plan be prepared in consultation with the community, and I want to see funding sought from the state government to ensure local ratepayers are not required to pay back the public land within the Mambo Wetlands site.
"Our community has been thrown into turmoil and distress by the DA which many believed threatened the viability of the entire Wetlands. That's why I want a permanent solution- so residents are not forced to battle this issue again and again."
She says the community, in particular the local Aboriginal community, highly values the Wetlands, which also provides invaluable habitat for local koalas.
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| Port Stephens Councillor Jamie Abbott |
