New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

LAKE MACQUARIE LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN 2014 - REG 5.23

5.23 Public bushland

(1) The objective of this clause is to protect and ensure the ecological viability of bushland, including rehabilitated areas in urban areas, by--

(a) preserving biodiversity, habitat corridors and links between public bushland and other nearby bushland, and

(b) preserving bushland as a natural stabiliser of the soil surface, and

(c) preserving existing hydrological landforms, processes and functions, including natural drainage lines, watercourses, wetlands and foreshores, and

(d) preserving the recreational, educational, scientific, aesthetic, environmental, ecological and cultural values and potential of bushland, and

(e) mitigating disturbance caused by development.

(2) Development that will disturb, or is reasonably likely to disturb, public bushland is permitted with development consent.

(3) Development consent must not be granted to development that will disturb, or is reasonably likely to disturb, public bushland unless the consent authority is satisfied of the following--

(a) the disturbance of the bushland is essential for a purpose in the public interest,

(b) there is no reasonable alternative to the disturbance,

(c) the development minimises the amount of bushland to be disturbed,

(d) the development includes measures to remediate the disturbed bushland.

(4) Despite subclause (2), development that will disturb, or is reasonably likely to disturb, public bushland is permitted without development consent if the development is for the following purposes--

(a) the construction, operation or maintenance of pipelines to carry water, sewerage or gas or pipelines licensed under the Pipelines Act 1967 ,

(b) the construction, operation or maintenance of electricity or telecommunication lines,

(c) bush fire hazard reduction,

(d) the construction or maintenance of classified roads,

(e) facilitating the recreational use of the public bushland.

(5) Development specified in subclause (4)(e) is permitted without development consent only if it is carried out in accordance with a plan of management for the public bushland, adopted by the Council in the same way a plan of management is required to be adopted for community land under the Local Government Act 1993 , Chapter 6, Part 2, Division 2, that includes measures for the following--

(a) the recreational use of the land,

(b) bush fire hazard reduction,

(c) the prevention of degradation, including the alteration of drainage patterns, rubbish dumping, vehicle intrusion and infestation with weeds or non-native plants,

(d) the remediation of degraded public bushland.

(6) This clause does not require development consent for clearing of native vegetation if the clearing is of a kind that is authorised under the Local Land Services Act 2013 , section 60O.

(7) In deciding whether to grant development consent to development on land adjoining public bushland, the consent authority must consider the following--

(a) the need to retain public bushland adjoining the site of the development,

(b) the likely effect of the development on public bushland, including the following--

(i) the erosion of soil,

(ii) the siltation of streams and waterways,

(iii) the spread of weeds and non-native plants within public bushland,

(c) other matters the consent authority considers relevant to the protection and preservation of public bushland.

(8) This clause does not apply to the following land that is public bushland--

(a) land in Zone RU1, RU2, RU3, RU4 or RU5,

(b) land reserved, dedicated or acquired under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 ,

(c) land within a State forest, flora reserve or timber reserve within the meaning of the Forestry Act 2012 ,

(d) land to which State Environmental Planning Policy (Precincts--Western Parkland City) 2021 , Chapter 7 applies.

(9) In this clause--

"disturb" public bushland means--

(a) remove vegetation from public bushland, or

(b) cause a change in the natural ecology of public bushland that results in the destruction or degradation of the public bushland.

"non-native plant" means a plant that is not native vegetation.

"public bushland" means land--

(a) on which there is vegetation that is--

(i) a remainder of the natural vegetation of the land, or

(ii) representative of the structure and floristics of the natural vegetation of the land, and

(b) that is owned, managed or reserved for open space or environmental conservation by the Council or a public authority.