Shoalhaven Council Development Committee Meeting
13 Apr 2010
I am sure that you have heard that the Robert Cochrane/Colys rezoning and development on land behind the Bowling Club in Quirk Street, is up before Council again.
(The land is currently 1A Agricultural and part of the "green belt" around the Village. It needs a rezoning for building to be allowed).
What is proposed is larger than the first proposals back in late 2007 - this time there's 135 houses (2,3,4 bedroom mix); 120 seniors living; a 40 apartment hotel and conference centre and in a throwaway line a "high care facility". This is clearly the sweetener to win resident support - there is nothing on the site drawings to indicate where or how big this would be. There is no seniors hostel accommodation either. We have had independent advice that nothing short of 40 beds is economically viable for these services, so it seems unlikely that this will happen.
This development is way too large - it will double the population of the Village and increase the overall housing stock of Kangaroo Valley by around 40% and put intolerable strains on all the infrastructure of Kangaroo Valley.Our little Village would become a suburban town.
Council has failed to implement its own policy of community consultation - no-one in KV has been consulted AT ALL. The developers consultants were given the right to speak at Development Committee AND invited to dinner with Councillors for a further presentation. We got nothing!
We need your support!
Please be at Council for the meeting Tuesday 13 April at 4pm when the Development Committee's motion to begin the process for rezoning will be debated. (Because of the way the package has been presented to Council once the rezoning is through it will give tacit approval to the DA). Councillors need to know that we will not accept major decisions like this being made without community consultation.
We have applied to address full Council at the above meeting.
Wendy Caird
Vice President KVTA and representative on a Coalition of KV Community groups