Wildlife corridor created for arboretum

Gosford Mayor Cr Robert Bell has announced that another hectare of land has been added to the Crommelin Native Arboretum at Pearl Beach to create a wildlife corridor.

The announcement was made during a rain-drenched barbecue lunch to an excited group of about 100 members of the arboretum association, Pearl Beach residents and visitors who had been working towards realisation of the corridor for five years.

Initial discussions were held in 1998 between the council, the arboretum, and the owner of the leasehold on the five-acre parcel of land adjacent to the arboretum.

Gosford Council subsequently resolved to prepare a draft Local Environment Plan covering this parcel of land to provide for a two-lot subdivision immediately adjoining Crystal Ave.

It was subject to the dedication of the rear half of the lot to be zoned Open Space - Special Uses-Wildlife Corridor and that the Council would then add the land to the arboretum.

The extra land will increase the size of the Arboretum by 20 per cent to a total area of 5.56ha.

It will link the arboretum to the undeveloped part of Sydney University's Research Station land and then on to Brisbane Water National Park.

The land was originally cleared for a citrus orchard in the 1940s and was planted later with pine trees which were burnt out in the 1990 fires.

Cr Bell congratulated the arboretum's members on their achievements in creating, maintaining and managing this popular natural bushland area since its establishment in 1976 and said that the additional land would consolidate the importance of the Crommelin Native Arboretum as one of Gosford City's natural assets.

The president of the Arboretum Management Committee, Mr Phil Westlake, thanked the mayor for his efforts in helping to bring about this substantial addition to the arboretum and said that the committee and the Pearl Beach community would ensure that the wildlife corridor project became a reality.

"Careful planning, a botanical assessment, revegetation planting and lots of hard work will be needed to make sure the project is carried out with integrity as part of the arboretum and as a wildlife corridor," he said.

Press release, May 26