The triangle of land Council will consider changing to a conservation area. Photo: Shire of Esperance.
Esperance Shire Council is to consider reclassifying a 2ha triangle of remnant bushland from “public open space” to “environmental conservation” when it meets on Tuesday.
The land at the corner of Circle Valley Road and Coolgardie-Esperance Highway includes parts of two small salt lakes.
The Shire will then ask for this to be considered an “environmental offset” to satisfy a requirement for clearing, as part of the upgrading of Circle Valley Road Project.
As an amendment to the current town planning scheme the request then needs to be approved by the WA Environment Minister.
A report to Council says an Offset Revegetation Plan has been prepared for the subject land.
It proposes revegetation within this area to reduce the habitat fragmentation and help to protect the reserve from weed invasion and other degrading processes within Reserve 24007 (which also extends south of the road).
“To meet the objectives of a successful, science-based revegetation plan, numerous factors need to be considered and implemented, including the reference site, weed control, pest and disease hygiene practices, site preparation, species selection, completion criteria, monitoring and adaptive management practices in the need of contingency measures,” the report says.
A Shire spokesperson said an environmental offset was needed to compensate for the clearing of vegetation.
“Circle Valley Road is particularly narrow, resulting in safety issues during grain harvest season, and requires widening to maintain the safety of road users,” she said.
“The project involves a road upgrade including a pre-bitumen re-sheet.
“To complete these works a small amount of native vegetation will be cleared, mainly around bends.”
The spokesperson said Environmental offset sites needed Environmental Conservation zoning, hence the need for an amendment to the Local Planning Scheme.
