Recent data provided by the NSW Government shows the amount of land rezoned in the Shoalhaven for residential use during the last decade is over twice the size of the Sydney CBD.
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Approximately 576 hectares of land in the Shoalhaven have been rezoned from rural or environmental zone to residential zone since 2010.
Independent MLC Justin Field said the Shoalhaven is the epicentre of the hundreds of hectares of land on the South Coast rezoned for development in the last few years.
"The amount of bushland and farmland being rezoned for development is a huge concern to many residents the South Coast. Many people live in and visit the region because of our beautiful natural environment and rural landscape," Mr Field said.
"The big opportunity for future jobs in the region is based on tourism and agriculture. Bulldozing bushland and farmland for unsustainable urban development puts these opportunities at risk.
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"With the impacts of climate change becoming more of a reality every day, protecting nature and food growing land has never been more important."
The NSW Government could not provide data on how much of the rezoned land had development consent but construction hadn't started. This was because councils are not required to provide the data.