GATHERING on Tuesday 26 September, Port Stephens Council members discussed and made decisions on two development applications, one in Nelson Bay and one in Corlette.

These applications presented a challenge to Council who had to weigh genuine community benefit and a family’s dream home against the very weighty concerns raised by the Development Services team, who submitted reports on both proposals.

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Application 16-2023-14-1 sought approval for construction of a residential flat building on a property in Magnus St.
The plans indicate a four storey building with three apartments and a basement car park.

Such plans have potential community benefit in increasing the capacity for affordable housing without needing to clear new land for development.

Unfortunately a number of issues were raised as to the suitability of the plans for the particular property, inappropriate design for the area and a lack of information around the buildings impact on scenic views of Nelson Bay.

Cr Giacomo Arnott spoke to the difficulty in making these decisions in the current social climate, saying, “We obviously don’t like coming into this room and refusing development applications that provide for extra housing.

“We’re in the middle of a housing crisis, but there are development rules that need to be followed.”

The development had support from some council members who saw more merit than concern in the additional housing at a location close to the town centre.

The second application (no. 16-2023-29-1) was for the building of a new private residence on Sandy Point Road in Corlette.

One of the applicants appeared before council to make an impassioned plea to allow the construction of this “dream home”.

The applicants have been heavily involved in the local community for many years and as an Air Force family they spoke of the “many sacrifices” they have made to be able to present this application.

Unfortunately the applicants faced an uphill battle as their plans, in current form, cannot be approved by the Rural Fire Service as compliant with current regulations.

The property backs onto the Mambo Wetlands and current guidelines require a greater clearance of bushland from any new construction than the applicants current plans allow.

A difficulty in this situation is that most of the surrounding properties are not subject to the same condition, since they were approved and constructed at a time when the requirements were less stringent.

A number of the councillors voiced their regret over the fact that this created a difficult circumstance for the family involved, but their “hands were tied”.

Cr Chris Doohan expressed his own frustration that the property owners were, in part, “a victim of legislational change, and that really sucks.”

“I know it’s likely to be defeated, but I really hope the applicants and our staff can work together to come up with an alternative DA that we can approve.

“I’d be really happy to see that.”

The recommendations to refuse both applications were adopted by the council.

By Lindsay HALL