Housing development refused after (NSW) Mid North Coast Council raises koala concerns
By Kerrin Thomas, ABC Mid North Coast. 27 July 2020.
A HOUSING DEVELOPMENT refused by Mid Coast Council on the grounds it failed to address koala protection issues has also lost an appeal to the Land and Environment Court.
The applicants wanted to build six single-storey units on a site between Gollan Avenue and Beecher Street at Tinonee, near Taree, on the NSW Mid North Coast.
Despite a recommendation from staff that it be approved, MidCoast councillors refused the development with a vote of seven to two, citing reasons including a failure to adequately address koala protection issues.
That refusal was contested in the Land and Environment Court, which also dismissed the appeal.
In her judgement, Commissioner Sarah Bish described the site as mostly grass, with “a few mature trees scattered across the site”.
PICTURED: An ecologist for Mid Coast Council found evidence of koalas in a tree on the site of the development, according to the court judgement. (Supplied: Pat Durman)
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