STOP PRESS (4 Aug 2010): The road from Cameron's Corner to the freeway is back on the agenda. The RTA met with Bellingen Shire Council last week, and tonight held their first community consultation.

They began with a frank apology for the handling of the process last time, and stated that a high priority is keeping the wetland undisturbed. People split into groups and then fed back into the whole gathering, revealing a wide range of opportunities and threats to be addressed this time around. The RTA have committed to being more transparent and consultative this time around, although some expressed concern that the community may be reluctant to engage yet again in another consultation.

Watch this space.

2009 Community Options Paper Results (from 365 randomly distributed surveys

Take heart: The RTA can be made to listen!

In response to a concerted community campaign, with the support of local council, the Road Transport Authority has decided to defer work on Camerons Corner until they have funding to investigate options which preserve the wetland.

This was the first recommendation of the "Submissions Report" prepared by Eco Logical.

Since initially the RTA had no intention of consulting with the community in any meaningful way about possible alternatives, we went ahead and prepared a Community Options Paper, which was developed in consultation with local ecologists. We offer it as a helpful starting point for the RTA should they decide to revisit roadworks on Camerons Corner in the future, and to other communities as an example of what can be done if the RTA proposes ill concieved roadworks in your area.

Submission report recommendations (full report here)

This submissions report has taken into consideration the issues raised following the display of the REF for
the proposal. Prior to the RTA determining whether or not to proceed with the proposal it is
recommended that:
• In consultation with the community and relevant stakeholders, an investigation of viable
alternative options is undertaken. The options investigation would aim to avoid or minimise
impact on the Swamp sclerophyll forest Endangered Ecological Community and Freshwater
wetland Endangered Ecological Community. The options investigation would also take into
account the issues raised during public display of the REF, including the tourism and economy
issues.
• Field surveys targeting the Green-thighed frog (Litoria brevipalmata), Hairy jointgrass (Arthraxon
hispidus), Southern swamp orchid (Phaius australis) and Square-stemmed spike-rush (Eleocharis
tetraquetra) are undertaken to determine if these species are present within the study area.
Where any of these are found to be present, an Environmental Planning and Assessment Act
1979 7-part test and/or Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
assessment of significance would be required to assess the impacts of the proposal.
• A heritage assessment to determine the cultural significance of the locality in accordance with
the NSW Heritage Office’s Manual for assessing heritage significance (2001) is prepared to clarify
the cultural, social and visual significance of the study area.
• A flood assessment to confirm the required flood immunity is prepared. The assessment would
take into account recent local flood events and the climate change data (from Department of
Environment and Climate Change) for the Northern Rivers region.

11 August 2009

WORK DEFERRED AT
CAMERONS CORNER

Proposed work on the Waterfall Way at Camerons Corner will be deferred following community feedback on the RTA’s environmental assessment.  

An RTA spokesperson says the decision was taken after the RTA received 47 submissions responding to the environmental assessment and following Bellingen Shire Council’s advice that it no longer supported the preferred option. 

“The Waterfall Way is an important route connecting New England with the north coast but the RTA recognises that it is also a unique part of NSW with a high environmental value.

“There is often a difficult balance to be struck between the need to upgrade our roads and the need to safeguard the environment.

“The RTA has listened to the concerns of the Bellingen Shire Council and community and has decided the best course of action is to defer the project,” the spokesperson said.

Bellingen Shire Council has lobbied for improvements to Waterfall Way since 1993, including at Camerons Corner. 

The RTA has already made a number of improvements to the Waterfall Way in recent years on the Dorrigo Mountain and work is currently being carried out at Marx Hill.

Any improvements at Camerons Corner will now be deferred until funding is available to reassess the route options.  When funding does become available for the project to proceed, issues that have been identified by this process will be reconsidered and further consultation undertaken with Council and the community.

A report summarising the submissions to the REF and the RTA’s response will be available for download from the RTA’s website at www.rta.nsw.gov.au early next week.