DEAR News Of The Area,

THE decision to grant approval for the construction of a four story unit block at number 3 High Street, Nambucca Heads, as reported in your paper of 23 February 2024, was made “with a gun to the head” of Councillors.

The gun to the head was the threat of being sued by the developer for a breach of agreement to sell a parcel of land, a road reserve, an agreement that was signed by the former General Manager of Nambucca Valley Council and in the words of the Mayor Rhonda Hoban, “has caused me much angst”.

The Mayor has previously stated that, had she been there on the night, the resolution to close the road and agree to sell to the adjoining neighbour and to enter into an agreement to sell the land would probably not have been made . We believe that you cannot agree to sell a parcel of land over which you have no jurisdiction.

As it turned out the road was probably a Crown Road and had to be gazetted by Council to bring it under their jurisdiction.

That parcel of land increased the developer’s holding by a whopping 25 percent, allowing a substantial increase in the size and scale of the unit block that could be built.

For this piece of land, the developer will pay the princely sum of $50,000, a gift when you consider that he had paid in excess of $1.4 million for a block that he could do very little with.

We believe ratepayers have been short changed by not realising a fair and proper value for the land.

In spite of all of the above, Council on 15 February 2024, approved the construction of a four storey unit building on the combined site, a building we believe is grossly outside of the Council’s DCP.

Previously, other new developments in the street that are single dwellings have been forced to comply with the Council regulations, particularly regarding setback of the building and setback of car park entries.

Perhaps Council’s Manager of Development and Environment, Mr Daniel Walsh, can explain to your readers, why every other new development in the street has been made to strictly comply with the DCP.

He might also explain how an independent assessor, engaged by Council, was able to apply such flexibility without reference to Council staff, raising the question, is the independent assessor independent?

What we have now is the building that will set a precedent for the construction of unit developments in the Nambucca Shire.

Regards,
David PLEASANCE,
Daniel MARINO,
Bernie and Geraldine PERKINS,
Nicola LEWIS,
Reece SLINGSBY.