Bushland is much-needed open space

Gosford Council's director of environmental planning is quoted in the Express Advocate as saying about Kincumber Creek: "The creek and riparian corridor is important because of the valuable remaining vegetation.

"It supports a range of native animals, some of which are threatened and have little area left to support them."

The same could be said about the native bushland on the corner of Veron Rd and Hillview St in Woy Woy.

It is patches of bushland like this that are preventing extinction of our rare and endangered wildlife.

For example, this bushland supports the endangered swift parrots and regent honeyeaters.

Other species of birds and animals have become extinct because people removed the plants that provided their food, their places to breed and places to shelter from predators.

This native bushland block is the last of its kind on the Peninsula, being intact remnant woodland.

It has very distinctive vegetation such as xanthorrhoea (grass trees), which take many years to mature.

The creek that borders this land also supports many waterbirds.

This area of native bushland is also a popular walking area.

It is flat and accessible by the community, and provides much-needed open space and a passive recreation area.

With a projected population increase of 12,000 on the Peninsula and little provision for open space, this block provides a ready and much-needed opportunity.

Council has been seeking suitable land to purchase using Section 94 funds for community use as open space.

Developing it instead for residential purposes would alienate it from open space use, destroy its distinctive vegetation, and its ability to support rare and endangered species.

Peninsula residents are invited to write to Council before June 3 about the proposal to build 43 [sic] villas on this site.

We have the ability to prevent the loss of this site for use by the native wildlife and by the community. This proposal would mean much of the vegetation would be destroyed, and so the habitat of the native birds and animals would also be destroyed.

Shirley Hotchkiss, Umina