PORT Stephens Council has voted to approve a controversial 81 apartment high rise development in Church Street, Nelson Bay.

At Council’s 28 February meeting councillors voted to allow the project to proceed, which has been paused several times over many years due to design issues.

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Councillors Anderson, Wells and Kafer voted to deny the DA, with councillors Bailey, Tucker and Mayor Ryan Palmer voting to approve.

The Mayor’s casting vote then saw the development approved.

Councillors Arnott and Francis abstained from voting on the item after declaring a significant non-pecuniary conflict of interest relating to comments that the development proponent had made in local media.

Roz Armstrong, President of the Soldiers Point Community Group (SPCG), who used Public Access on Tuesday night to object to Council approving a height variation for a DA on Soldiers Point Road, said that she was disappointed that the Church Street development was approved despite Councillors Anderson, Wells and Kafer’s votes against it.

“SPCG will continue to fight against developments in the area that are not compliant with the LEP as a matter of principle because the community had made it very clear on more than one occasion that they did not want this occurring,” Roz Armstrong told News Of The Area.

Community groups have consistently battled against developers in Nelson Bay and across the peninsula to keep height limits down.

Geoff Washington of the Tomaree Residents and Ratepayers Association (TRRA) said, “TRRA is very disappointed that, at the Council meeting on 28 February 2023, the DA for an ‘overheight’ 81-unit apartment building at 11-15 Church Street, Nelson Bay, was approved.

“While approval was recommended by Council staff, TRRA noted that the applicant had failed to comply with the Council’s request in September 2022 to reduce ‘the building height by one floor so the infraction against the building height limit is negligible’.

“As approved, it remains nearly ten percent over the only recently doubled height limit of 28 metres.

“In TRRA’s opinion it will, if built, significantly impact important views of the town centre and on Nelson Bay’s natural backdrop of wooded hills.

“TRRA fears that the approval will continue a pattern of variation approvals which will make it more difficult to enforce height and other limits in future and may also prejudice Council’s defence of its refusal of an only slightly greater height variation at 17-19 Yacaaba St, currently under appeal.”

By Marian SAMPSON