Councillors including the Mayor as well as council staff met with representatives of the groups at the Bomaderry Creek picnic area on Narang Road.

Terry Barratt of Bomaderry Creek Bushcare led the discussion and outlined the reasons the groups were opposed to the proposed option that would split the bushland in half.

“We decided that as there was a new council it would be a good opportunity to talk about it,” Mr Barratt said.

“We’ve been long opposed to the road being constructed through the bushland.”

The central route had been thoroughly discussed by the concerned groups as it would have the greatest impact on the environment.

“We’ve not looked at the southern route option in as much detail. But the yellow bellied glider and some other fauna species will be greatly impacted.”

Jim Wallis of Bomaderry Creek Landcare explained the area had “tremendous biodiversity” and the whole area was needed to ensure that biodiversity was maintained.

“If you put something through the middle, it does change the movement of animals from one area to another,” Mr Wallis said.

“The fear is that if we compromise and this generation takes half, the next generation will take half and we’re left with a quarter. The next generation takes half again and we’re left with an eighth.”

The third option, from West Cambewarra Road, would see more bushland removed than the Narang Road option, however Mr Barratt said that could be minimised by moving the road slightly.

“Looking at the Narang-Pitt line pegs, a lot of bushland will be removed, but not as much as the West Cambewarra route if it comes off West Cambewarra Road,” Mr Barrett said.

“But this route cuts the park in two as opposed to cutting a sliver off the edge. The impact will be much greater.

“From an environmental point of view, West Cambewarra is the better option.”

The glossy black cockatoo, a threatened species, would be affected by the West Cambewarra option.

Spokesperson for Friends of Bomaderry Creek, Robin Moyes also made a presentation focusing on traffic issues.

“We believe there is room to look at alternatives to the existing proposed West Cambewarra route,” he said.

“We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about traffic options and we have a lot of ideas to improve the traffic situations.”