Blue Mountains City Council backs call for land acquisition

Thank you for signing! We already have an important campaign update:

Great news out of the BMCC meeting last night where Council unanimously passed an Urgency Motion from Deputy Mayor Romola Hollywood's calling on the State Government to purchase 68-70 Meeks Crescent Faulconbridge to add to the National Park!

The motion in detail was:

Resolution of Blue Mountains City Council:

1 That the Council notes that a private land holding at 68-70 Meeks Crescent Faulconbridge has been listed for auction on 18 June 2024

2 That the Council notes this land has been identified by the Blue Mountains Conservation Society as a valuable strategic addition to the Blue Mountains National Park because it is a "critical site for the rare Faulconbridge Mallee Ash (Eucalyptus burgessiana) and provides habitat for a range of threatened species. It is a place of significant Aboriginal cultural heritage."

3 That the site is within the curtilage of, and historically connected to, two locally listed heritage items under LEP 2015, with Adeline Park considered of state significance due to highly significant areas of heath vegetation with large populations of the rare mallee Eucalyptus burgessiana.

4 That the Blue Mountains Conservation Society and the community has advocated for the land to be included in the reserve system as early as July 1990, including reports in the Blue Mountains Gazette.

5 That the Council notes that 97% of this land (124 hectares) is zoned C2 Environmental Conservation under LEP 2015 on account of its environmental constraints. Remaining portions of the site exhibit high order constraints to residential development such as bush fire, slope constraints, ecological buffers and vegetation constraint areas.

6 That the Council calls on the NSW Government to purchase this privately owned land so that it can be included in the National Parks estate and reserve system.

7 That the Council writes to the State Member Trish Doyle MP and Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment, the Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe MLC, and the Federal Member Susan Templeman MP to seek their support for the acquisition of this land in North Faulconbridge.

Huge thanks to Councillors Romola Hollywood, Claire West and Brent Hoare who all spoke to the motion and also acknowledged this grassroots community campaign.

We will send occaisional updates on this campaign when we reach milestones. If you want to stay across the campaign day to day - or pitch in to help - join the Friends of the Faulco Mallee Ridge/Blue Gum Valley Facebook Group.

In the meantime - please keep sharing the petition.