Plan for ‘sea of roofs’ will destroy last koala habitat in western Sydney, critics say

Conservation components of the Cumberland Plain plan meant to offset clearing of critically endangered ecosystems, including exclusion fencing and new reserves to protect koalas, could take decades to deliver, environmentalists say. Photograph: Thanat Naiyaporn/Getty Images

A plan to build up to 73,000 houses in new suburbs in western Sydney relies on conservation promises that might not be delivered until decades into the future, environment groups say.

The New South Wales government recently approved the Cumberland Plain conservation plan, a major planning policy that will guide the development of four new urban growth areas from Penrith to Wilton, including the western Sydney Aerotropolis.