“Sense Of Place”

We Invite you to enter magnificent Chudleigh, Caveside, Mole Creek Valley with two main villages and rural countryside dairy, beef and sheep farms, intermingled with tourism businesses and idyllic lifestyle living.

The area is rich in heritage and cultural significance. At every turn there are extensive scenic views and unique tourist assets. Guided tours, featuring caves, walks, scenic lookouts, honey production are aided by a large range of accommodation.

The unique and fragile system of over 400 caves in the Mole Creek Karst National Park is of world significance.

The Valley is the gateway to the Great Western Tiers World Heritage area, a highly popular tourist route.

There are many tributary streams coming off the mountains to form the Lobster and Mole Creek rivulets. A weir in the headwaters of the Mole Creek produces pure clear water to the village. The water is fed by gravity direct from the mountain to kitchen.

The area is home and habitat for many birds (including threatened species), native animals, frogs and fungi.

Clear felling of the native forest by forestry corporations impact heavily on all of the above. Our mountainsides are being scarred and eroded by the clear felling of the native forest. The water is becoming polluted with soil and debris. It is planned to apply toxic chemicals, known to contaminate water supplies and affect the health of marine life and other users of water.

The inspection of forestry activities reveals aspects of the Forest Practices Code and the Sinkhole Manual have been largely ignored. The sustained intrusiveness of clear-fell forestry related practices on highly visible mountainsides and foothills is an insult to local communities.

Of even greater concern is the buying up of many good local farms by Managed Investment Scheme (MIS) driven plantation corporations, who convert them to unsustainable pulp plantations. This impacts heavily on local communities, reducing economic viability and sustainability.

The community is very concerned for its health, sense of place, loss of rights, the tourism industry, scenic and amenity loss, water and air pollution, and with a reducing population its critical mass. There are over 50 other issues identified in our issues and impacts discussion list available on request.