sydney-city-centre-review-of-environmental-factors

disorientated immediately following the proposed tree pruning and removal. This
would be most likely along Macquarie Street due to the removal of the two London
Plane trees along the western kerb (work site: F1: Macquarie Street) (refer to
section 6.6.3). This could cause a break in established flight lines between Hyde
Park and the Domain/Botanic Garden. However, bat species are generally adaptive
and find alternative routes. This would be assisted by the widespread presence of
alternative structures to echolocate off. As such, the impact is assessed as
negligible.
There is the potential to injure or kill fauna when removing/pruning the trees. There is
also a remote potential for larger nocturnal ground-dwelling species to fall into open
excavation trenches. However both impacts are considered unlikely given the limited
habitat potential of the proposal footprint and, in the case of species entrapment, the
potential for such an impact to occur would be remote.
Statutorily protected biodiversity
As noted above, whilst the grey-headed flying fox may intermittently shelter or forage
over the proposal footprint it is improbable that it depends on any of the affected
trees for its survival. Consequently, as the proposal is unlikely to have a significant
effect on this species and no assessment of significance under the TSC Act
Assessment Guidelines (refer to section 6.9.1) is required.
There are no anticipated impacts on species listed under either FM Act or EPBC Act
due to the limited biodiversity values of the proposal footprint.
Biodiversity impacts during operation
Despite introducing traffic improvements in certain locations around the city centre
the proposal would not impact on land with associated biodiversity values.
Consequently, there would be no operational impacts.
6.9.4 Safeguards and management measures
Table 6-57 lists the biodiversity safeguards and management measures that would
be implemented to address the impacts identified above in section 6.9.3.
Table 6-57
Biodiversity safeguards and management measures
Impact Environmental safeguard Responsibility Timing
Biodiversity
management
across the
entire proposal
footprint
Prepare a biodiversity management
plan (BMP) as a sub-plan of the
CEMP. As a minimum, the plan
would:
Provide for the discovery of
unexpected threatened flora or
fauna. The provisions of
Standard Management
Procedure: Unexpected
Threatened Species Finds
(Roads and Maritime, 2011)
would be subsequently
implemented.
Construction
contractor
Preconstruction
Construction
Sydney City Centre Capacity Improvement 385
Review of Environmental Factors