ENVIRONMENTALISTS are opposing a proposal to build seven group homes on bushland at Bloomfield for the redevelopment of the Riverside Centre.
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Two development applications have been submitted to Orange City Council to subdivide land that is home to the endangered black sallee tree and the superb parrot and build six-bedroom homes for Riverside residents.
The Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Orange want the development moved to another part of the Bloomfield site that does not encroach on land with threatened species.
“I’d love to see new buildings established for Riverside residents, just at another location,” ECCO member Peter West said.
“Why disturb this woodland, this endangered community, when there’s other potential options within the Bloomfield complex?”
The land, which has been classified as an endangered ecological community, has hollow-bearing trees that provide habitat for native wildlife.
Mr West said the site was home to echidna, sugar gliders, kangaroos, frogs, and several varieties of bird, among other species.
He said members of ECCO had also spotted superb parrots nesting in trees next to the proposed development site.
Scientists have estimated there are just 2000 breeding pairs left in the wild, with clearing of woodlands identified as one of the greatest threats to the species.
The Orange Field Naturalists and Conservation Society recently installed nesting boxes in Bloomfield Park and Hinton Reserve to provide a safe haven for the vulnerable birds.
“We’ve found a breeding site just outside of this bushland, which means they could very well also be nesting in here,” Mr West said.
“Because superb parrots nest in the same site year after year, this site could be a site of significance for breeding.”
Mr West said ECCO wanted the land evaluated by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, or another authority, and for the site to be “retained, exactly as it is”.
ECCO president Neil Jones said the group had lodged a submission objecting to the proposed location of the group homes, on the grounds that a report had “acknowledged that there will be an impact on the superb parrot”.
The group homes are part of an overhaul of the ageing Riverside Centre, which will also include a new 30-bed accommodation facility for people with a disability.
Comment was sought from NSW Ageing, Disability and Home Care, but was not provided before the Central Western Daily’s publication deadline.
lisa.cox@ruralpress.com
