NAMBUCCA Valley Council has received an application for a Section 8.33 Review of Determination from Oscar Design and Construction Pty Ltd for DA 105/2022 at Lot 208 DP1270916 in Forest Road, Nambucca Heads.

The proposal aims to develop six residential building blocks into two, two storey (plus basement) residential apartment buildings, each with twelve x three-bedroom apartments, a total of 24 units.

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At a Nambucca Valley Council meeting on Thursday, September 15, Councillors voted unanimously to refuse the above DA.

At the time, Mr Daniel Walsh, Acting Assistant General Manager, Engineering Services, Nambucca Valley Council cited ‘exceeding the maximum building height and adverse overshadowing on adjoining properties to the south’, as a major reason for the development application being refused.

The only changes in the revised DA relate to driveway gradients, with the height of the development now 20 percent higher than the original concept, an increase in height to 12.05 metres at its highest point.

News Of The Area spoke with concerned members of the Forest Road Action Group (FRAG) regarding the impacts of the proposed developments on their homes and surrounding community.

FRAG would like to make it clear to the community they are not anti-development; they are against inappropriate development.

“We know development is coming, and we know we can’t stop it, nor do we want to stop it,” said FRAG spokesperson Claire Melton.

“A decade ago, the Productivity Commission predicted a population explosion on the Mid North Coast from 2020 to 2050.

“We can see that that prediction has begun.

“This is an extremely critical time for us all to ensure that increased development is carried out in a way that does not negatively impact either the social fabric or the pristine beauty of the Nambucca Valley.

“We do not want to be another Gold Coast or Central Coast with a badly planned, overbuilt, traffic congested sprawling urban mess,” said Claire.

Forest Road is a narrow road on the north eastern side of Nambucca Heads, over a kilometre from the Nambucca CBD.

The six blocks pertinent to this DA are high on a ridge in a subdivision zoned Residential (R1), intended for one storey dwellings only.

Oscar Design and Construction Pty Ltd are asking for rezoning from R1 to R2 with height restrictions to be raised from 8.5m to 12.05 m, nearly 40 percent higher than the current LEP height limits for the original zoning of the sub-division and existing residential blocks in the Nambucca Valley.

Neighbouring residents are concerned the proposed development will severely impact on their properties, while the development would potentially quadruple the number of residents within a small area, putting added pressure on infrastructure such as sewerage, population, stormwater, and fire control on the Forest Road subdivision.

Locals say converting six average building sites into a large multi-unit development has the potential to adversely disadvantage the community as a whole by setting a precedent for similar re-zoned developments to be built in the future.

The proposal also includes extensive excavation down into the escarpment.

FRAG have expressed concerns that the impact of construction, including silt runoff, heavy construction equipment and increased traffic, will impact the environment of the immediate area, and further to the south of the development.

While FRAG initially celebrated Council’s original decision on this development they are concerned that the community will not understand that this is a review of the original DA and that all submissions (for or against) will need to be lodged all over again.

Nambucca Valley Council were contacted for comment but did not respond by the time of publication.

Anyone wishing to make written submission to Council needs to do so before February 10 2023.

For more information about DA105/2022 at Lot 208 DP1270916 in Forest Road, Nambucca Heads, visit https://sites.google.com/view/forestnambucca/home.

Submissions must be addressed to the General Manager, Nambucca Valley Council, PO Box 177, Macksville or emailed to council@nambucca.nsw.gov.au or by hand at the Macksville office.

By Karen GRIBBIN