Lend Lease have begun developing the Eastern Precinct of the ADI Site. Precincts are another name for suburbs. Precinct Plans are similar to Local Environmental Plans (LEPS). Lend Lease have named the first Precinct, Ropes Crossing.

The Eastern Precinct is approximately 132.2 ha and Lend Lease are planning around 1600 houses in this area. Adjacent to the Eastern Precinct is the 22 ha Ropes Creek Precinct (outlined in green) It is expected together they will yield 1900 houses.

NSW Assistant Planning Minister, Diane Beamer, announced in June 2003 that the Eastern and the Dunheved Precincts would be the first areas of the ADI Site released for development. The Eastern Precinct is wholly within the Blacktown Council Local Government Area. Lend Lease lodged its Eastern Precinct Plan with Blacktown Council in August 2003. Under SREP 30 Councils have 6 months to determine a Precinct Plan. On the 4th February 2004 Blacktown Council approved Lend Leases Eastern Precinct Plan ignoring thousands of comments opposing the development. 

ADI RAG put together a comprehensive  submission to Blacktown Council opposing Lend Leases plans. 

Lend Leases development was meant to be a model of ecological sustainable development, even SREP 30 and EPS 2000 held that as its aim. What was lodged with Blacktown Council was a plan that proposed to clear over 40 ha of endangered ecological communities, destroy thousands of individual endangered flora species and  allow residents to own cats and dogs with only minimal restrictions such as , cats must have a bell on their collar.

The environmental impacts of the development were largely ignored because Lend Lease claimed that the environmental impacts of the development would be mitigated by the creation of the adjacent 900 ha Regional Park. Council and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, upheld Lend Leases claim and the environment was never again considered. 

ADI RAG found many anomalies with Lend Leases planning documents. Their Biodiversity Assessment was clearly erroneous and our submission largely challenged its validity. We took our concerns to NPWS but we were ignored. We kept on NPWS's back to investigate errors  with Lend Leases flora and fauna assessments and mapping and we managed to get them to act in July 2004, six months after development had been approved. 

There were no grounds for a legal challenge to the approval of the Eastern Precinct Plan because it was in accordance with SREP 30 and the EPS 2000, reinforcing our claim that these instruments were authored to favour Lend Lease and restrict any legal challenges. 

In April 2004 Lend Lease lodged a  Development Application with Blacktown Council proposing to subdivide the ADI Site into 5 lots. 4 Lots are to be within the Eastern Precinct with a large residue lot being the remainder of the ADI Site. A subdivision Concept Plan was also lodged.

Blacktown Council approves the subdivision Concept Plan for the Eastern Precinct on August 18 2004. 

On November 1 2004 ADI RAG became aware that Lend Lease had lodged a Development Application to subdivide 13 ha of the Eastern Precinct. ADI RAG protested to Council that the DA should be publicly exhibited because the DA is accompanied by a Species Impact Statement. Council claim that it is enshrined in Blacktown Development Control plan 1992 that they do not have to notify or publicly exhibit subdivision DA’s. ADI RAG sought legal advice regarding this matter and it appeared that a so called independent Ecological Consultant had assessed Lend Leases Species impact Statement for Council and found that the Species Impact Statement was unnecessary as there would be no significant impact as a result of Lend Leases subdivision. This despite the DA proposing to clear 4 ha of Cumberland Plain Woodland and thousands of several individual endangered flora species. Again the Regional Park was used to justify the loss of these species. It appeared that Council and Lend Lease had conspired to allow this DA to be assessed without public scrutiny. If the DA had of required a Species Impact Statement Council would have considered it Threatened Species Development under the EP&A Act 1979 which meant it would have had to be publicly exhibited.

A further insult to open and transparent governance comes from the fact that Councillors have nothing to do with the approval of this DA, instead, delegated authority had been granted to one person, Glennys James, Councils Director of Planning and Development Services, at the time when the Eastern Precinct Plan was approved.

Because of Blacktown Councils ridiculous planning polices that are blatantly pro development and undemocratic , Lend Leases future subdivision DA’s will be lodged and approved without public scrutiny. Blacktown Council has demonstrated what a disgrace it is by cleverly shutting the public out of the planning process.  There are major moral issues arising from these outcomes. 

On December 9 2004 Lend Leases bulldozers moved onto the ADI Site for the very first time and began clearing vegetation. Blacktown Council had apparently approved Lend Leases subdivision DA and there was no public notification of this decision.  

Development of the Eastern Precinct also triggered the need to remove Kangaroos and Emus from this part of the ADI Site. Lend Lease had to develop a Macrofauna Management Plan to humanely reduce the number of Kangaroos on the site. ADI RAG lodged a submission to this plan. The Minister for the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Bob Debus, has given Lend Lease all the licences needed for it to begin sterilising the Kangaroos.  

The Eastern Precinct and the Eastern Sector Regional Park still have contamination issues. Lend Lease  lodged a DA for a Remediation Action Plan to overcome contamination issues of these areas with Blacktown Council on the 19 September 2003. Blacktown Council handed the DA over to the NSW Planning Minister on October 27 2003 for him to determine as State Significant Development.

Craig Knowles approved this DA on July 6 2004 yet Lend Lease only started on it in February 2005.  

The aim of Lend Leases work is to have the Eastern Sector Regional Park opened up to unrestricted public access and more land made suitable for urban development. 

ADI RAG opposes unrestricted public access to the Eastern Sector Regional Park. Lend Leases Remediation Action Plan fails to satisfy the recommendations stipulated in the Eastern Sector Site Audit Statement. Lend Lease in its marketing strategy to sell the Eastern Precinct wants new residents to access the adjoining bushland. This is all they are interested in, the last thing they want confronting potential land buyers is a 2 metre security fence around the Regional Park. 

Again it will be interesting to see if the NSW Government caves into Lend Leases demands.

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ADI Residents Action Groups Eastern Precinct Plan submission pdf 223 kb