Controversial housing plan goes to Gateway
The final decision regarding plans to build 450 homes at Belrose on bushfire-prone land has moved a step closer to approval.
The Sydney North Planning Panel gave a green light for the development application to proceed to Gateway assessment on 29 May. It is now before NSW Planning Minister, Paul Scully. If he determines the proposal should proceed, there will be a 28-day community consultation.
The Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council (MLALC) has been working on a rezoning proposal for residential and commercial use on 70 hectares of undeveloped bushland at Morgan Road for over a decade, with the current proposal lodged last year.
Plans for the site include seniors housing and community facilities. MLALC chief executive officer, Nathan Moran, said that the vision had always been for ‘sensitive development aimed at transforming a land asset into economic, social and cultural opportunities for Aboriginal people.’
A four to one majority of the Panel decided the proposal could proceed because the applicant had ‘sufficiently addressed the Panel’s conditions to proceed to Gateway.’ This included capping the number of dwellings at 450 and assigning 10 per cent of the development to affordable housing.
The Panel stated that the proposal must further detail how dwelling number caps would be achieved, and how the 45 affordable dwellings would be delivered.
Dissenting panel member Annelise Tuor said the revised planning proposal failed to ‘demonstrate suitability to adequately respond to the environmental and other constraints of the site.’
Wakehurst MP Michael Regan tabled a 12,000-strong community petition to NSW Parliament on 29 June. Mr Regan said it was ‘time for Labor to listen to our community on the destructive Lizard Rock proposal.’
“The proposal would see the destruction of large swathes of bushland and place homes and people in an area with high bushfire risk and limited infrastructure,” Mr Regan said. “More greenfield low-density housing, in areas without pre-existing infrastructure, is not what our State, city or electorate needs.”
Local advocates Northern Beaches Bushland Guardians urged the Government to ‘find a new way forward,’ such as a land swap for the MLALC or leasing the land as National Park. This would enable the MLALC to raise funds to funnel back into programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Mr Scully said he would ensure local communities were not ‘left out’ of having a voice on land use.
By Catherine Lewis and Michelle Giglio