Re. Planning Proposal to rezone and amend minimum lot size on part 20-24 Lockyer Street, Goulburn

 

Friends of Grasslands (FOG) is a community group dedicated to the conservation of grassy ecosystems in south-eastern Australia - natural temperate grasslands and grassy woodlands. FOG advocates, educates and advises on matters to do with the conservation of these ecosystems, and carries out surveys and on-ground work. FOG is based in Canberra and its members include professional scientists, landowners, land managers and interested members of the public.

FOG in our submission is restricting our comments to potential or actual ecological issues on the site. We note the conclusions the Flora and Fauna reports:

1. The site predominantly contains cleared pastureland, a series of dams and isolated remnant  trees, including ones with good quality hollows and large stick nests.
2. The vegetation does not meet the criteria as critically endangered Box-Gum Woodland, or significant threatened species habitat.

As such, we do not object to the development, but recommend that:

1. All of the mature trees with nests or hollows be retained and as many as possible of other remnant trees be retained: these isolated trees provide connectivity across the landscape for flying fauna, as well as habitat in situ.
2. Consideration be given to retaining one or more dams as a native wetland, enhancing the habitat to encourage use by a range of species and providing on-going habitat for those species that already occur on site.

 

Yours sincerely

SIGNED

 

Professor Jamie Pittock
President, Friends of Grasslands

2 August 2025