Friends of Porters Creek Wetland
Porters Creek Wetland is the Central Coast’s largest freshwater wetland and it is under threat. Porters Creek Wetland is a backup water supply during drought and the lungs of the Porters Creek catchment, Wyong River and Tuggerah Lakes.
Wetlands are now known to be critical for extracting and storing carbon from the earth’s atmosphere and are now believed to store more carbon than any other ecosystem. All wetlands, including Porters Creek Wetland make significant contributions to biodiversity and the availability of fresh water. They cover around 6 per cent of the Earth’s land surface but 40 per cent of all plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands.
Wetland ecosystems like Porters Creek absorb excess water and help prevent floods and drought. In the words of Leticia Carvalho, Principal Coordinator for Marine and Freshwater at UNEP healthy wetlands “punch above their weight in terms of benefits”.
Wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests and are Earth’s most threatened ecosystem. In just 50 years – since 1970 – 35 per cent of the world’s wetlands have evaporated.
Human activities that have fuelled this include agriculture, construction, pollution, overfishing and overexploitation of resources; together with invasive species upsetting the balance, and climate change.
Key threats to the viability of the Porters Creek Wetland are over-development of the surrounding catchment, lack of appropriate storm water management, and the proposed expansion of the neighbouring Central Coast Airport.
The Community Environment Network has established Friends of Porters Creek Wetland to enhance the community’s awareness of the wetland and its importance.
Permanent Protection
In 2020 Central Coast Council was very close to signing an agreement with the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT) to ensure the permanent protection of Porters Creek Wetland. Unfortunately, the Conservation Agreement was set aside when the council was placed in administration between 2020 and 2024.
Porters Creek Wetland is zoned C2 – Conservation, but it is classified as Operational land. Operational land can be sold by Central Coast Council at any time without community consultation.
CEN and the Friends of Porters Creek Wetland have three objectives that we believe will protect the wetland for future generations:
- Reclassify the land from Operational Land to Community Land – Community Land cannot be sold off without community consultation.
- Enter an agreement with the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust to ensure the wetland’s permanent protection.
- Add Porters Creek Wetland to the Coastal Open Space System (COSS) so its status as a significant ecological landscape is recognised and upheld.
Airport Expansion
CEN has worked hard to modify the most recent Masterplan for Central Coast Airport (exhibited in 2024) which we recommended should be withdrawn because of its lack of balance and transparency.
The Masterplan omitted the fact the airport is physically linked by its operations to Porters Creek Wetland which is a state significant coastal wetland under State Environmental Planning Policy Resilience and Hazards (SEPP R & H). It failed to recognise the biodiversity values and contribution of the Porters Creek Wetland to Tuggerah Lakes and the whole Central Coast environment.
CEN contends that the council has a duty of care to prepare a masterplan for Porters Creek Wetland either before, or at the same time as its master plan for the airport. The draft masterplan for the airport referred to ecological assessments conducted by AEP and de Witt Ecology but failed to make the findings of those assessments public. CEN believes the studies should be proactively released.
The Central Coast Airport (CCA) has a contentious history, but the CEN has never opposed its operation as it has a valid consent to operate a 970-metre length runway.
When the Central Coast Council halted the Conservation Agreement (CA) with the Biodiversity Conservation Trust of NSW (BCT) to protect the wetland, CEN wrote to and met with Council Administrator and senior members of council’s planning and environment staff. We expressed concern about the council’s withdrawal from the CA.
CEN understands that a masterplan, or strategic long-term plan for the Porters Creek Wetland, was incorporated into the management objectives contained within the abandoned CA with the BCT. We believe the Masterplan for the airport must have equal weight with the management objectives contained in the CA.
It appears that the airport expansion includes strategies to encroach further into C2 Conservation land that currently forms a buffer between the airport and the wetland. C2 – Environmental Conservation land is the highest level of protection available under the NSW standard planning instrument to protect sensitive endangered ecological communities and their habitat.
The airport masterplan failed to explain that a rezoning (planning proposal) would be required as the proposed land use – an airport passenger terminal – is not permitted with consent on land zoned C2 Environmental Conservation.
Central Coast Council has a legal obligation to provide the full facts to the public before it can legitimately move forward with any plans that impact on endangered ecological communities, threatened species or wildlife corridors.
Existing threats
The long-term viability of Porters Creek Wetland is already under threat due directly to the actions of both Central Coast Council and the NSW Government.
Promised stormwater management, which was a condition of allowing more development in the Porters Creek catchment, was replaced in 2021-22 with “nature-based solutions” although the specifics of Central Coast Council’s “nature-based” approach to stormwater management has never been made clear to the public.
Porters Creek Wetland is classified as operational land which means it can currently be sold without community consultation. Council’s executive leadership team have made public statements that PCW cannot be reclassified from operational to community land (necessary to underpin its long-term security) until the airport Masterplan and expansion is complete.
Further Information about Porters Creek
Airport History
Central Coast Airport (also known as Warnervale Airport) was opened in 1973 following engagement by a local group of aviation enthusiasts with Wyong Shire Council to rezone an area of land for the establishment of a landing area for recreational flying activities.
The airport was operated solely by the Central Coast Aero Club until the 1980s when a land swap was negotiated with Wyong Shire Council. The Aero Club consolidated the area around their club rooms and Council assumed ownership of the runway and movement areas. Council completed sealing works and the provision of utilities to the airport site and contracted Central Coast Aero Club to conduct regular maintenance activities.
In 1993 a master plan was developed for the airport which proposed the extension of the runway to cater for regular passenger services and a freight hub. There was opposition to these proposals which culminated in a political intervention with the establishment of the Warnervale Airport Restriction Act 1996 (WAR Act) in NSW State Parliament. The WAR Act curtailed the ability for Wyong Shire Council to develop the airport site beyond limited maintenance work.
In 2015 the activities of the former Wyong Shire Council (WSC) ignited a contentious expansion of the CCA without undertaking proper environmental assessment in accordance with both lodging a Development Application (DA) with and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for clearing of native swamp vegetation within land zoned C2 Environmental Conservation and the clearing of native vegetation in the State Environmental Planning Policy Resilience and Hazards (SEPP R & H) – Coastal Wetland of Porter’s Creek.
The former WSC failed to undertake the proper environmental assessment in the extension and upgrading of the runway from 970 metres to 1196 metres. In 2015 the Department of Planning determined that the extension and upgrading of the runway was an ‘activity’ and was in breach of Section 5.1 and 5.5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP & A Act).
Due to multiple breaches of the EP & A Act the former WSC was fined $3,000 and the Department sought a formal undertaking from Council to carry out remediation works. In 2019, the Central Coast Council resolved to undertake remediation of the land reportedly cleared in 2015 and develop a replanting plan in consultation with an ecologist. Limits were placed on mowing, slashing and trimming without consent.
In February 2021, the NSW State Parliament voted to repeal the WAR Act along with the immediate lifting of any flight restrictions. The review report recommended that Central Coast Council develop and adopt a framework for the future of the airport and act to reduce the obstacle risk of trees located on final approach at the northern end of the runway.
The airport continues to provide value to the community through: recreational flying and hangarage; flight training; community events; medical and emergency services.
Business Case
CEN’s mission is to stand up for Ecologically Sustainable Development and oppose threats to it. The Local Government Act 1993 also places an obligation upon local government to examine the ecological sustainability of its decisions. No triple bottom-line analysis has been provided by council on the airport.
There is a distinct lack of evidence in the public domain that there is any demand for a general aviation hub on the Coast. The information made available to the public thus far does not include the results of the 2022 Request for Information (RFI).
Council advertised a Request for Information (RFI) from the general aviation industry about whether it would be interested in using a general aviation hub at Warnervale. The results have never been released. Council then conducted a further round of aviation consultation concurrently with the 2024 exhibition of the Masterplan.
The main increase in use of the ALA between 2018 and 2022 has been pilot training. This means the privately operated pilot school and the small number of aero club enthusiasts would be the big winners if the proposed Masterplan were to be adopted.
Council, while under administration, allocated $4 million to the Masterplan.
The airport is currently uncertified, having a Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) classification of an Aircraft Landing Area (ALA). The masterplan assumes that it will become a 2B aerodrome. No budget or cost estimates have been given as part of the exhibition to determine the outlay of funds required.
Costs include new wind direction indicators, aircraft parking areas, hangar developments, helicopter areas, fencing and preparation of a new ANEF. All these costs are part of Stage 1 of the Masterplan, to take place in the next five years. These activities should not have been placed on exhibition without any indicative costings.
The absence of a business case or costings makes it impossible for the public and stakeholders to provide fully informed feedback.
Stage 2 – the medium-term part of the Masterplan – has no specific timeline (it may move ahead concurrently with stage 1 if the Masterplan is adopted). There are no indicative costings for example, to finance the expansion of the airport to the other side of Jack Grant Ave. The draft Masterplan includes measurements for a taxiway upgrade of 0.4km or 3689.7 square metres but no costs, even indicative, are given for this work.
The draft Masterplan mentioned that there may be a need for a passenger terminal after 10 years. It failed to explain the demand triggers that would determine the need for a passenger terminal and the upgrades and costings required to bring such a proposal to fruition.
The draft Masterplan explained that the council will need to “ensure that future taxiway upgrades provide a suitable strength rating for planned design aircraft to avoid pavement concessions and risk of taxiway damage”. No costings have been provided for this work so it is difficult for stakeholders to comment on whether or not such an investment represents good value for money. Various other facilities upgrades may be required over the life of this draft plan to service the growth of the airport, including: perimeter road; ARO facilities; Automated Weather Station; Car parking; Helicopter facilities.
The exhibited Masterplan gave no information about how these would be paid for or what they are likely to cost so it is impossible to assess its sustainability.
Stewardship Site
The 2024 Masterplan referred to an “indicative” boundary realignment for the runway and an indicative subdivision of aviation lands and employment lands from Porters Creek Wetland but it did not show the actual boundary realignment.
It included a map of a proposed ‘Stewardship Site’ for Porters Creek Wetland but there was no information, apart from that map, about the future of Porters Creek Wetland. If surveys of flora and fauna have been conducted, they should have been placed on exhibition. If they have not been conducted the next stage of the Masterplan should not go ahead.
CEN believes exhibiting the draft Masterplan to develop or encroach on conservation land without disclosing the biodiversity value of that land was an example of mismanagement on behalf of Central Coast Council. We have called for the release of the full details of the proposed new Stewardship Site. For instance, does the stewardship site cover a larger or smaller area than the previously proposed Conservation Agreement? Will it give the wetland more or less protection than the proposed 2020 Conservation Agreement? If the airport masterplan is going to be a “benchmark for environmentally sensitive and sustainable development in the region” why was it exhibited without releasing the stewardship site information?
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