FOR locals in Raymond Terrace, Flying-Foxes at Ross Wallbridge Reserve continue to remain a problem.

In the recent Port Stephens Council meeting on 8 February 2022, West Ward Councillor Giacomo Arnott put forth a notice of motion to request the General Manager to provide an update on the flying-fox colony in the Reserve, including an update on current numbers and clarification on the flying-fox management actions in place for the Reserve.

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“At the time I submitted this motion, the bats were particularly bad.

“There shouldn’t be a situation where local families are feeling like they’re being held hostage by an animal that, to these people, is a pest,” Cr Arnott said.

Issues raised by the community included the smell of the bats, corrosion of paint on cars due to the poo of the bats, alongside complaints of the screeching noise of the animals.

“I don’t want to harm the bats and I want to make that really clear – I think that there has to be a solution out there that balances the need to protect the animals whilst also taking into consideration the complaints of people who live and pay rates there,” Cr Arnott said.

Flying-Foxes first established a camp at Newbury Park, Raymond Terrace in summer 2011 and later in the adjacent Ross Wallbridge Reserve in 2016.

Historically, the camp has been primarily occupied by the Grey-Headed Flying-Fox; a species listed as ‘vulnerable’ under the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The Raymond Terrace Flying-Fox camp is also recognised and protected as a ‘Nationally Important Camp’ under the Act.

The Raymond Terrace Flying-fox Camp Management Plan, prepared in 2016, provides a tool to ensure appropriate management of the camp.

This management plan outlines the issues of concern to the community caused by the presence of flying-fox and the measures that will be taken to manage the land and reduce conflict with the local community.

“The motion that has passed doesn’t actually ask the Council to do anything other than asking for an update on the colony, to work out where we’re at and hopefully we can use that to be in a better position to decide what to do to protect our community and the bats,” he said.

By Tara CAMPBELL