Iron Bark Case Study
Iron Bark is an industrial development comprising a total development area of 58.8ha within a 200 ha estate at Smeaton Grange in the Camden Council area south-west of Sydney. Civil works are currently underway and when complete the development will be subdivided into a range of lot sizes. Lots are developed and offered for sale, turnkey or pre-lease on a fully serviced basis with water, electricity and sewer provided to each individual lot.
Much of the site was highly degraded prior to Investa acquiring it; though it also includes a well preserved stand of Cumberland Plane woodland. Another distinctive feature of the site is the creek running through the middle of it. The creek bed is dry most of the time and was also badly degraded from prior uses.
As part of the development application process, Investa committed to a variety of measures designed to protect and enhance the ecology of the site. Particular focus was given to the riparian corridor, which has become a focal point for the development, and runs in an 'L' shape for 1.2km through the centre linking the remnant habitats being preserved at either end.
The riparian zone accounts for 9.3ha of the development site and serves a variety of functions. In addition to the obvious aesthetic benefit, the zone will act as a refuge corridor for fauna and also provide stormwater capacity for up to 1 in 100 year floods. The success of this endeavour will be largely dependent on the establishment of indigenous plant species. In total, approximately 400,000 plants, shrubs and trees are being planted in the riparian zone; 74,978 of which were provided by Greening Australia from species native to the Camden area. Harvest Seed and Native Plants and Leppington Speedy Seedlings provided the balance of the plant seeds which were collected on site prior to the commencement of construction.
A representative area of 704m2 comprising 3,563 plants (five plants per m2 including 1.357 trees/shrubs per m2) has been identified for continuous monitoring. The NSW Department of Planning has indicated that Iron Bark will be used as a benchmark for regenerating riparian zones in the future and we have agreed that, over time, this area will be used by the nearby Botanical Gardens as a seed bank.
In addition to the riparian zone, over 50,000m2 of native grasses and a further 600,000+ plants, shrubs, trees and aquatic plants are being planted (30,000 of which are being transplanted from redundant dams) in landscaped areas throughout the estate as well as the adjoining Narellan Creek. In total over one million plants have been planted on the site.
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