THEY fought against it with more than 1000 submissions and were aware it was going to happen, but when the trees were cleared for the Woolworths shopping centre development at Vincentia many in the community were shocked.
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The large acreage at the intersection of Jervis Bay Road and The Wool Road at Vincentia was cleared just before Christmas to make way for a Big W, Woolworths and specialty shops.
And while the company was given consent for the development by the state government, residents and visitors said they could not believe their eyes when they drove past the site.
One resident said signs in the adjacent Stockland housing estate saying Live with Nature were “pretty hypocritical when they knock down almost every tree to build these estates and shopping centres.”
A group gathered to voice their concern and disgust at how the company was going about its business.
“This has been a disaster from the start,” said local orchid enthusiast Alan Stephenson.
Mr Stephenson said he knew of two rare orchids that grew in the area which had been destroyed.
“There were only about 30 bearded orchids in existence, a number of which were growing here,” he said.
Jenny Packwood from Wildlife Rescue South Coast, formerly NANA, said she had grave concerns for wildlife that had been displaced.
“I was horrified, I did not expect this much to be cleared,” she said.
“I think there would be thousands of animals killed.
“With a bulldozer knocking all those trees down animals that can’t get away in a hurry like echidnas, possums, snakes and lizards would have been killed as the trees fell,” she said.
Shoalhaven City Councillor Amanda Findley said the community put a lot of effort into lodging submissions against the development and was upset and shocked by the extent of the clearing.
“This community said loud and clear it did not want this, so you might think the developer would at least down scale it,” she said.
“But they haven’t even bothered, not even a buffer zone of bush.
“They are trying to sell this on the beauty of Jervis Bay but this bare earth policy of knock it all down and replant it later just doesn’t cut it.”
John Fimmano who works in Huskisson, said a lot of tourists were horrified.
“Why do this on the corner of the entrance to Jervis Bay?” he asked.
“These people aren’t coming here for shopping centres.
“Why not find a more discreet site. People are asking why destroy the bush to build more shops.”
A spokesman from Woolworths said the site has been subject to considerable environmental testing and analysis for nearly a decade.
“Clearing of the land was done in accordance with strict planning approval conditions and under the supervision of flora and fauna experts. Considerable time and effort was put into an environmental management plan to ensure this important development has minimal impact on the surrounding habitat,” he said.
