Draft Map Book for Sydney Development Control Plan (City of Sydney)

By Andrew Wood, Convenor Blue Wren Subcommittee, April 2025, from Bulletin 2/2025

2025 City’s draft policies on pesticides and weed management

The Subcommittee recommended that the Society fully support the City of Sydney’s draft policies.

City’s draft maps of biodiversity corridors and key habitat areas

The City is revising its planning controls, including the Sydney Local Environment Plan (SLEP) and the Sydney Development Control Plan 2012 (SDCP)  (see Note 1). It has sought feedback on its proposed changes. The Society has written to Council with its concerns about excluding areas within Glebe and Forest Lodge from proposed biodiversity corridors in the SDCP, an amendment drafted in November last year.

Details of the City’s proposed planning control changes are on its website on a page called Your say on updates to planning controls related to greening, amenity, parking and design excellence. On this page, you’ll find many documents showing proposed amendments to the SLEP, SDCP and Policies. The document covering the biodiversity corridors is one of the documents under the heading DCP amendments. The document is called Sydney DCP 2012 – map book. The relevant maps in the Map book are on Sheets 001 (p.7), 002 (p.8), 008 (p.14) and 009 (p.15).

In the Society’s letter to Monica Barone, CEO of the City, we requested that the new SDCP state that Glebe and Forest Lodge are a suburbs-wide biodiversity corridor. Also, the following park and garden should, in particular, be identified as parts of the Glebe and Forest Lodge biodiversity corridor:

  • Foley Park in Glebe Point Road.
  • Glebe Town Hall’s native garden in St Johns Road.

In addition, the following parks and reserves should be identified as key habitat areas:

  • John St Reserve in John Street.
  • Paddy Gray Reserve in Hereford Street.
  • Parks in Palmerston Ave and surrounds.
  • Glebe’s Hill between the Tramsheds and the light rail line.
  • Orphan School Creek between Bridge Rd and Parramatta Rd.
  • The northern end of Wentworth Park.

City’s review of the 2014 Urban Ecology Strategic Action Plan

The City of Sydney is reviewing its 182-page 2014 Urban Ecology Strategic Action Plan and the Society was asked to reply to a series of questions from Les McCluskey, the City’s Urban Ecology Coordinator, about an updated Plan. The Society’s full reply is available on the website. Duncan Leys and I met with Les on Wednesday 19 March to present the Society’s submission. Our principal recommendations for the 2025 Plan are as follows:

Appointment of additional Urban Ecology staff

While the Society supports the many actions outlined in the 2014 Urban Ecology Action Plan, the failed implementation of some of these actions may have been due to a lack of resourcing, including having additional City staff supporting the Urban Ecology Coordinator. Contractors only deliver according to their contracts and issues arise; residents may alert the City to issues of urgent weed infestation, tree problems, poor maintenance of parks and so on but find no action is taken. There is a need to have a small team of City staff, as well as contractors, who will work under the supervision of the Urban Ecology Coordinator to improve urban ecology and biodiversity outcomes for the City and for Glebe and Forest Lodge.

John Street Reserve in mid-2023 following completion of the native plantings and placement of rocks to provide habitat for lizards, skinks and other fauna (photo: Andrew Wood)

John Street Reserve, a demonstration habitat garden

The Glebe Society has been disappointed that John Street Reserve, which was originally planted as a habitat garden, has not been maintained utilising the expertise of bush regeneration contractors employed by the City. The originally established native flora has died. The Reserve should be replanted and prioritised by the City’s bushcare contractors to reestablish it as a significant biodiversity resource in Glebe.

Understory planting

The Society recommends that the City have a greater focus on understorey planting in our parks and streets so that the established canopy species are complemented by a suitable understorey of native plants.

Removal of noxious weed – Celtis sinensis (Chinese/Japanese hackberry)

This tree, a noxious weed, is known as the ‘Glebe Weed’. It is a huge limiting factor on improving the biodiversity of our suburb and should be prioritised for removal and replacement with suitable native species. Also, an education program is required to inform local residents about the need to remove Celtis seedlings from their gardens.

Note 1. The Sydney Local Environment Plan (SLEP) is a NSW government environmental planning instrument (EPI) with legislative force. SEPPs (State environmental planning policies) are also EPIs. The ‘parent act’ of these EPIs is the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 No 203. The SLEP is supported by the SDCP which provides detailed development controls and guidance on their implementation. An easy-to-understand description of the planning system is on the website of Coutts Lawyers & Conveyancers, The Basics: Environmental Planning Instruments (SEPPs, LEPs and DCPs) explained.

9th Annual Biodiversity Lecture

Associate Professor Tanya Latty, a Research and Teaching Fellow in Entomology in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney, has accepted an invitation to present the Society’s 2025 lecture at 6 pm on Wednesday 28 May at Benledi, Glebe Library. The title of Tanya’s lecture is:

Where have all the insects gone? Why insect declines matter and how cities can make a difference.

Tanya has a PhD in insect ecology from the University of Calgary (Canada) and is an entomologist with a special interest in insect behaviour and ecology.

The lecture will be followed by a glass of wine and sushi. Please book via Eventbrite.

Updates from bushcare volunteers

Judy Christie, leader of the Orphan School Creek Bushcare Group, reports, ‘A working bee was held in the Wood Street Lands of Orphan School Creek Reserve on Sunday 2 March. Eleven volunteers were working, doing weeding, clearing vines, watering and cleaning up. As well, two other ‘friends’ of the group came along with morning tea which we all shared together. The site is looking good with fresh native grasses recovering in the absence of the Brush Turkey. We wait to see if mound-building will commence again in July. The next working bee will be held on 4 May 2025.’

Glebe District Hockey Club’s social media post announcing the relocation of the Olympians’ plaque (Source: GDHC Instagram)

In Rozelle Bay, David Lawrence says: ‘Three things to report re the park. I have let the City know about a dead tree in the park near Crescent Timber and some leftover fencing material opposite the Crescent Child Care Centre; the tree needs to be removed. Also, the plaque recognising the Glebe Hockey players who were Olympians disappeared from the walkway along Johnstons Creek on the Glebe side. I finally tracked it down through the groundsman. It was moved across the Creek and is now near the small hockey field on the Annandale side. Came across Harry Wark (a long-time member of the Glebe Hockey Club) and mentioned it to him; he requested it be moved because the old site often saw it covered by vegetation.’

Anna Szanto, leader of the Glebe Palmerston and Surrounds Landcare Group reports, ‘We had a working bee on Sunday 2 March. We weeded, picked up litter and trimmed the thriving Lomandra to give light- and space-seeking plants more of a chance to do well. A range of small to large hunks of concrete continue to be dumped on plants in the garden beds along the edges of our site: Lombard Street and both sides of the end of Keegan Avenue. We’ll discuss with Council what, if anything, could be undertaken to remedy the situation. We’re very pleased to have two new young volunteers join our group in the last couple of months. And finally, all three graffiti items that had been gouged into the gutter at the edge of our site have been removed by Council.’

In Harold Park / Johnstons Creek, Nick Sangster has prepared maps of the locations of about 80 Casuarinas that need to be removed, and sent them to Les McCluskey (the City’s Urban Ecology Coordinator) and to the City’s two contractors responsible for the sites and for the removal of the trees.

Also, Nick received an email from Councillor Matthew Thompson regarding the Casuarinas;  he had sent the following questions to the City staff:

  • What actions has the City taken to remove the 38 Casuarinas located in Johnstons Creek and identified by the Glebe Society and Blue Wrens as detrimental to the overall biodiversity of the Creek?
  • Is it the intention of the City staff to remove these trees?
  • If the intention is to keep the trees, why?
  • Is there a date when residents can expect that the trees will be removed?
  • What actions are being taken by the City to enable native plants to thrive and prevent monocultures from being established in the Johnstons Creek bed, as identified by the Glebe Society?

Cr Thompson received a reply: ‘Council staff have said that the removal of Casuarina saplings four metres or under has commenced. They’ve further indicated that removal of the larger trees will occur ‘within the next few months.” He also commented: ‘This seems to be part of a trend of Council’s ecology team being stretched too thin and not being properly resourced. Given you’ve been advocating for these changes since 2021, that’s just way too long a turnaround, in my opinion.’

Council approves Innovation & Ideas Grant Acquittal Report 

Les McCluskey, the City’s Grant Liaison Officer, has approved our Acquittal Report for the Innovation and Ideas Grant (Glebe’s Hill – unravelling its biodiversity secrets and potential) and the Society has now received its final Grant payment of $4,000. That completes two and a half years work administering the Grant.

The publication by the University of Sydney of its successful research report about Glebe’s Hill occurred in November last year. The report concluded,

The Glebe’s Hill project presents a significant opportunity to enhance urban biodiversity in the City of Sydney in a way that supports nature and people. By transforming this degraded site into a thriving greenspace, the project aims to create a model for urban ecological restoration that can be replicated in other cities.

The management of the Grant was, however, at times difficult and complex. It took a year to organise the three Grant contracts (one with University of Sydney and two with the City) and involved 366 email chains.

The Society now has the task of informing all the City Councillors about the results of the University’s research and asking that funding be provided to commence the task of turning the Hill into a wildlife refuge. The City needs to draw up an Action Plan that will include recommendations about securing the site, removing toxic and contaminated surface rubbish, and reviewing all the proposals in the University’s report. To discuss our requests, the Society, led by the President, met with Councillors Ellsmore and Thompson in February at the Town Hall, and a meeting at the Hill was held with Councillor Jess Miller on 20 March. We are awaiting replies from the other Councillors regarding a date for their meeting with the Society.