Attention: Vanessa Wan
Indara
Level 1, 110 Pacific Highway
St Leonards NSW 2065

Email: community@indara.com

 

Dear Sir/Madam

Proposal to Install a New Mobile Phone Base Station at corner Quick  Street and Limestone Avenue, Ainslie ACT 2602 (AINSLIE: Block 3, Section 60). RFNSA 2612016

Friends of Grasslands (FOG) is a community group dedicated to the conservation of natural temperate grassy ecosystems in south-eastern Australia. FOG advocates, educates and advises on matters to do with the conservation of grassy ecosystems, and carries out surveys and other on-ground work. FOG is based in Canberra and its members include professional scientists, landowners, land managers and interested members of the public.

We object to your proposal to install a new mobile phone base station at the corner of Quick Street and Limestone Avenue, Ainslie ACT 2602 (AINSLIE: Block 3, Section 60). RFNSA 2612016.

The location is "Natural Temperate Grassland", an endangered ecological community listed for protection under the ACT Nature Conservation Act 1980 and the Commonwealth EPBC Act 1999 in implementing provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Block 3, Section 60 is within an  area bordered by Limestone Ave, Quick St, Hayley St and the previous CSIRO Headquarters site that is mapped as Natural Temperate Grassland site "CC01" in AHE 2005 A vision of the grassy plains extended. ACT lowland native grasslands conservation strategy. Action Plan No. 28. AHE 05/1466. Arts, Heritage and Environment, Canberra. Native temperate grassland is an ecosystem that is jeopardised by even the smallest area of disturbance through earthworks and cannot be readily restored or off-set.

Consequently, your proposed project is NOT a low-impact facility under the federal Telecommunications (Low Impact Facilities) Determination 2018. Should you proceed with a development application at this site we will vigorously oppose approval through the ACT and federal processes at each step.

We ask you to move your proposed development to another location: there are a number of degraded areas of land north and east of the remnant grassland that are not of environmental significance.

Yours sincerely

 

Prof. Jamie Pittock
President

12 April 2023