PLANS to clear 14.5ha of native bush, including black cockatoo foraging habitat, on the Ingham’s site in Sinagra are out for public comment.
Strategen Environmental published a public notice on November 27 inviting submissions until December 10 on the proposal for lot 1665 Wanneroo Road.
The property is currently used as a poultry farm.
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READ NOWThe notice said Stockland Development proposed to clear 14.5ha of native vegetation for a residential development.
It said some of the bush was known foraging and potential breeding and roosting habitat for the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act-listed endangered Carnaby’s black cockatoo and vulnerable forest red-tailed black cockatoo.
The overall site is 40ha and has an urban deferred zoning under the Metropolitan Regional Scheme, which will be lifted in future to allow the residential development after Ingham’s relocates the poultry farm to Muchea.
Documents relating to the proposal can be found at the Wanneroo Library and State Library of WA and online at www.strategen.com.au .
“This foraging habitat consists primarily of marri, jarrah trees and to a lesser extent tuart,” one document said.
“Foraging habitat also consists of species including pine, allocasuarina, banksia and xanthorrhoea, which are known dietary items of all three black cockatoo species.”
It said 264 trees on the site met the criteria for potential cockatoo breeding trees that may develop hollows and be used for breeding in the future, but no hollows had been recorded.
A 360 Environmental survey in 2017 found 73 flora species on the site as well as two reptile, 15 bird and one mammal species.
“This is due to the degraded and fragmented state of the foraging habitat and no potential breeding trees containing observable hollows.
“Overall the site is not deemed to contain good quality foraging species and does not contain any suitable hollows for breeding.
“It is unlikely that the development of this habitat would interfere with the size of the population or impact the recovery, breeding or foraging habitats of the black cockatoo.”
It said clearing the site would not create a gap of more than 4km between habitats, as the adjacent site was Bush Forever and there were areas the birds occupied nearby, including Lake Joondalup nature reserve and Lake Jandabup.
Stockland bought the site for $53 million last year, which it said had capacity for almost 700 home sites.