Friends of the Witchcliffe Forest chalk up win despite concerns black cockatoos unidentified

Witchcliffe residents concerned about the potential loss of scores of old-growth trees in a new residential subdivision have had a major win.

Backroom talks between the Friends of the Witchcliffe Forest, the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River and developers of Witchcliffe Forest Estate have led to redrafted plans which will spare most of the mature trees.

The Friends formed to protect about 100 trees deemed to be between 150 and 350 years old.

The new plan puts a bigger chunk of the subdivision into conservation titles, redrafts the road network, and saves trees believed to be black cockatoo habitat.

More than 52 per cent of the site would now be conservation reserve and public open space, with 32 initial lots now reduced to 27.

In total, almost 200 extra trees would be saved from the chop, with the developers confirming that included those identified as possible habitat trees, as well as stands of significant marris and jarrah.

Estate project manager Tony Anderson said the intention was always to protect as many trees as possible.

“When the land was purchased in March 2022, we walked throughout the proposed estate and it became clear that we needed to find a way to protect the as many of the stands of marri and jarrah trees in the proposed road reserves as we could,” he said.

“As a result, our planners and engineers, together with our environmental experts, have redrawn the original plans to achieve this objective.

“The vision for the Witchcliffe Forest Estate is to allow generations of Western Australians to come to live in and enjoy the beauty of Witchcliffe and the South West of the State, and to see the growth of a community that harmonizes with the natural estate.”

The Shire as well as the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage have already signed off on the revisions and Mr Anderson was grateful experts worked with the proponents to honour their vision for the local environment.

Protest spokeswoman Caralynn Hoft said the changes were welcomed, though the Friends believed more work was needed to verify concerns around black cockatoos.

“The revised plan is a terrific outcome for everyone, except of course the black cockatoo,” she said.

“While we welcome the acknowledgment by the developers of the critical importance of this piece of remnant vegetation, to both the endangered wildlife and the community of Witchcliffe, there has still not been an independent fauna assessment of the site.”

Ms Hoft said documents received under the Freedom of Information Act failed to identify the subject trees as valued cockatoo habitat.

“The environmental management plan associated with this proposal doesn’t even recognise the black cockatoos forage and nest in this forest, yet we see them daily, and we have recorded them,” she said.

Despite being pleased with the outcome, she said a community campaign shouldn’t have been required and the lack of engagement with residents was “deficient”.