Category:Rossmore Grange

English: Rossmore Grange is a public reserve at 40 Ramsay Road in Rossmore, New South Wales that covers an area of 81 ha and encompasses the old Emmetts Farm Homestead, an extensive network of horse trails, a horse enclosure ring, picnic areas and a parking area.

A report on the site was commissioned by Liverpool City Council and undertaken by P & J Smith Ecological Consultants. This was finished in July 2005 and noted that most of its original vegetation had been cleared and the site was in dire need of remediation. A survey in the report found that Rossmore Grange consisted of:

• Cumberland Plain Woodland in the form of Grey Box (Eucalyptus moluccana) Woodland,
• Swamp Oak (Casuarina glauca) Floodplain Forest grows in a continuous band along South Creek,
• River-Flat Eucalypt Forest on Coastal Floodplains in the form of Cabbage Gum (Eucalyptus amplifolia)-Broad-leaved Apple (Angophora subvelutina) Forest in scattered remnants or regeneration on the floodplain in the west and north of Rossmore Grange, away from the immediate edge of South Creek, and
• Freshwater Wetlands on Coastal Floodplains in floodplains to the north of Rossmore Grange.

P & J Smith concluded that though the site had become degraded due to land clearing, it was still an important area to conserve because of the four identified endangered ecological communities on the site. (Smith & Smith, 2005) Remediation work has been done and much of the vegetation has started to regenerate since work was commenced.

In September 2021, the NSW Department of Planning, Industry & Environment approved a proposal to permit an animal boarding or training area on the grounds. This was necessary as Liverpool City Council had previously taken over the running of the Renbury Farm animal shelterand leased the site from the owner. The lease had started in December 2016 for two years and was extended till July 2020, however after it expired Rossmore Vets had become the shelter home. The proposal to place the shelter at Rossmore Grange was reviewed by the Liverpool Local Planning Panel who recommended that it did not meet site or merit requirements and thus recommended it did not proceed, however under the urging of Cr Peter Harle (Harle, 2023), Council decided to refer the proposal to the Department for a Gateway Determination. (Department of Planning, Industry & Environment, 2021)

Sources

• Vegetation Survey of Rossmore Grange (report to Liverpool City Council)^[1], P & J Smith Ecological Consultants, July 2005, DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.11526.93766
• Gateway determination report – PP-2021-4949: Planning Proposal – Schedule 1 amendment to permit animal boarding or training establishment at 40 Ramsay Road, Rossmore^[2], NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, September 21, 2021
• Harle, Peter (April 5, 2023). Liverpool City Council Animal Shelter – Update April 2023. Liverpool Community Independents Team.