Unmade Roads.

The ecological value of Mosman’s unmade roads.

Mosman’s 84 unmade roads are parcels of land that are classified as public roads but are not constructed as such. Those with the best bushland form valuable biodiversity corridors for fauna and flora. Unfortunately, they can also be viewed as tempting additions to private property and there have been battles and court cases over them.

One way to achieve greater protection is by means of the zoning. If the bushland and biodiversity are good enough, an environmental zoning (E2) can be applied.  Most of our unmade roads have a ‘public recreation’ (RE1) zoning where limited development is permitted, but in 2015 after reviewing the roads’ bushland qualities, Council succeeded in obtaining an environmental zoning (E2) for 15 more of our unmade roads.

After the court case over Unmade Stanton Road and Wyargine Reserve, Councillor Roy Bendall, with the support of Mosman Parks & Bushland members, moved a motion to upgrade the zoning of Unmade Stanton Road to give it greater protection from development. Mosman Council decided that other unmade roads with sufficient bushland quality should also be upgraded.

Mosman Parks & Bushland has encouraged Council to continue to improve the ecological value of its unmade roads, especially those that did not qualify for the environmental zoning in 2015. 

We are now hopeful that some of those roads whose zoning was not upgraded in 2015, will soon qualify for an upgrade.