A crowd of more than 100 people gathered in Katoomba to protest a multi-million dollar wildlife park proposed on the Great Western Highway at Wentworth Falls.
Police attended the protest which was held outside the Carrington Hotel on Tuesday February 28, shortly before a 100 minute-long town hall meeting - organised by the developers - that turned rowdy in the hotel's ballroom.
The project has had a long history. The original development application at 10 Great Western Highway, between Dillinger's Nursery and Wentworth Falls Pots, was approved after bitterly contested legal action went all the way from the council chambers to the NSW Supreme Court.
The Blue Mountains Conservation Society have labelled it a "zombie DA" (development application) because it was first proposed in 1989 and the existing consent remains active despite different owners.
Local councillors, environmentalists and neighbours of the project expressed serious concerns over the hotel and zoo complex, once known as a croc park. The term has continued to be a rallying cry for opponents of the development and protesters held signs that said 'Croc of s..t', 'Say no to the Croc Park' and 'What a croc'.
Current plans lodged in 2021 show the wildlife park will house a 12 metre high, 56-room five star hotel with animals view suites (such as 'koala view rooms), function centre, as well as parking for 250 cars and eight coaches.
There would also be animal hospitals, sanctuaries, conservation programs and a large zipline. The three storey carpark would have one storey visible from the highway.
At a cost of $110 million (the hotel forecast cost is $26,653,000 and the wildlife park is $83,699,000), the proposal has been deemed "state significant" so will bypass Blue Mountains City Council approval.
The site is owned by an Australian-based private consortium. Developers believe the zoo could be internationally significant and attract two million visitors annually.
Spokesman for the development, Farshad Amirbeaggi, a solicitor director with Yates Beaggi Lawyers and a Leura resident, said they had worked for about five years on the project, with some interruptions due to the pandemic.
The project group had "moved away from over development" in their plan and were now offering "facilities that suits the landscape and complements the local area ... and do bring economic stimulus to the region, do accompany those things tourists come to the area to see," he said.
"What was proposed from 1989, wasn't suitable for 2023 and beyond," he said. But he added, "I've no doubt walking up through the front [Carrington] steps earlier, that there are very strong views in the room about not wanting anything [at the site]."
National and international wildlife park experts are working on the project and the submitted designs are on the Department of Planning's website.
The proposal is in the first stage of an eight step process. An Environment Impact Statement [EIS] will be lodged with the Department at the end of June, which will be displayed publicly. Eventually the Department's recommendation will go to the Independent Planning Commission for the final decision.
Responding to a question about crocodiles, Mr Amirbeaggi said there was a reptiles exhibit proposed, but he declined to list the species to be included at the zoo.
Many neighbours spoke about their fears for their surroundings.
Ramon Rathore said he was concerned about nearby sacred Indigenous sites.
"You have a nice Indigenous meeting space there [in the plan] ... 100 metres from there are sacred sites at Kings Tableland, carvings ... the canyon out the back is fed by a pristine spring. You've never seen wilderness like it. My children go there, I want this place for my grandkids ... Save your money, pack up and go."
Another resident, Christopher Webber, said "the whole thing is just silly" with "reptiles unable to survive near the snow line" and concerns for the animals in a bushfire.
"How are you going to get all the animals out in a bushfire, when the RFS is going to have extreme difficulty getting to the southern side of this to stop a bushfire coming up from that direction?"
In response Mr Amirbeaggi said all parks address issues of risk and emergency evacuation "and many of the issues raised are one step ahead of where we are". The park would not open on high bushfire risk days.
Dr Naomi Parry Duncan said residents were "angry" because it seemed many issues had not been thought through.
"This isn't a consultation, it's a presentation," she said.
Bob Kemnitz, a long-standing RSPCA member and firefighter, said the proposed zoo animal fence "is a death sentence for wild animals ... I will fight you all the way".
Some newer residents expressed concerns they had recently bought in the area and had not been told about the potential development.
Read more:
The 25 acre proposed tourist attraction would open 363 days a year and offer 1155 jobs during construction and 150 jobs - from zookeepers to vets and cleaners - once in operation.
Ward 2 Greens Cr Brent Hoare said it was an "oversized fancy hotel trying to use native wildlife as a draw card for short-stay tourists".
"This is nothing more than a cynical ruse to use charismatic mega fauna as a tourist magnet for a very expensive five star hotel development. It doesn't pass the sniff test."
And Ward 2 Labor Cr Romola Hollywood received loud cheers from the crowd when she told the project spokesman: "Yes, you have a DA, but you do not currently have a DA for this level of development in that area".
'Crocadarium'
Blue Mountains MP Trish Doyle previously raised concerns in State Parliament about "the crocadarium zombie development application" that "breaches the conditions of our local environment plan".
She told the town hall meeting that Transport for NSW, firefighters, police and other agencies had labelled the project "ludicrous" after their site visit. This was an issue Mr Amirbeaggi denied. "I heard the opposite," he said.
However documents on the Planning website state the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment has pointed out "several key issues raised by government authorities and Blue Mountains City Council at the Planning Focus Meeting held on Monday 8 February 2021 [relating] to permissibility, bush fire risk, traffic and access and potential biodiversity impacts",
Many at the meeting expressed concerns the event had not been announced in The Blue Mountains Gazette, with small flyers instead placed on community notice boards. One of the requirements of the Planning process is that the group must genuinely consult with the community.
"It was not advertised in the local paper ... [and is] on the same night as council ... you are basically doing this by subterfuge," Tablelands Road resident Steven Ward, said.
But Mr Amirbeaggi said there would be more information to come and they would check with council dates in future for the next meeting.
"None of this is designed to be sneaky," Mr Amirbeaggi said.
The meeting heard the site would revert to its existing DA if the current project was not approved.
At the tail end of the meeting Mr Amirbeaggi called the crowd "combative" and said they held a minority view.
Some issues raised by the crowd included:
- concerns around evacuation of people and animals in bushfires
- environmental and welfare issues around caged animals and effects on native wildlife
- concerns about traffic and noise
- Indigenous artefacts
- the effects on the hanging swamps and Sydney's water supply
- clearing of the land to date
- light pollution
- changes to the look of the "land between towns" and
- building in an environment protection zone
A mayoral minute unanimously passed at Blue Mountains City Council later that night in the council chambers seeking that the state government intervene to give powers back to the council to examine the proposal locally.
The meeting's recording will go to the Department for review.
To see the Blue Mountains Wildlife Park proposal go to: https://pp.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/projects/blue-mountains-wildlife-and-tourism-development.
