A NUMBER of endangered Sydney turpentine-ironbarks are to be removed from the Kirrawee brickpit development site.
The trees will be replaced off-site in public reserves in the shire at a ratio of 2:1 under a voluntary planning agreement (VPA) with the brickpit site developer South Village Pty Ltd and Sutherland Shire Council.
It is not known how many trees will actually be removed. The figure is not mentioned in the documentation presented to Sutherland Shire Council and staff were unable to assist.
Turpentines are listed as an endangered ecological community under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act.
They are found only in fragmented pockets across Sydney with just 0.5 per cent of their original extent remaining intact.
The turpentine forest at the Kirrawee brickpit site is the largest remnant found in the locality.
Another remnant of turpentine forest was cleared as part of the Cronulla rail duplication project.
The Kirrawee brickpit development was approved by the Planning Assessment Commission. This included the removal of a portion of the turpentine forest while retaining a large section, particularly along the western boundary.
The developer has to undertake the off-site replacement of the turpentines as part of the development consent and maintain the new trees for five years.
A number of sites have been suggested by council staff as potential sites for the planting of the new turpentines including reserves at Kirrawee and Menai.
Before any compensatory planting, the council will have the final say on the sites where the planting will occur.
Shire Watch Independent councillor Peter Towell said the Sydney turpentine was becoming a rare tree.
"We didn't want to cut them down in the first place," he said.
