Halloran Trust Planning Proposal - Culburra Beach

On 1 December 2021, the NSW Land and Environment Court (LEC) released its decision on the appeal by Sealark Pty Ltd against the Independent Planning Commission’s refusal of the West Culburra Concept Proposal (State Significant Development subdivision). The LEC approved the State Significant Development Application (SSD 3846) as amended, subject to the conditions.

The LEC’s decision is available online at Sealark Pty Limited v Independent Planning Commission of NSW [2021] NSWLEC 1500 - NSW Caselaw. The consent can be accessed via the link to ‘Annexure A’ at the end of the page.

The approved concept proposal was reached through a s34 Conciliation agreement between the parties. Note: Council was not party to the litigation.

The approved concept proposal is a staged mixed-use development comprising up to:

• Town Centre – a maximum of 9,743 m² of mixed-use lots; 45 integrated housing dwellings; 33,991 m² of medium density residential lots
• Industrial – a maximum of 32,901 m² of industrial lots
• Residential – a maximum of 244 low density residential lots.

The LEC approval is non-operational – it does not permit any construction or operation of any development on the site. All physical works and each stage of the Concept Proposal is to be subject to future development applications to be assessed by Council (Condition A3).

Enquiries regarding the Courts approval should be directed to DPIE’s Major Projects team. Contact details for this project are provided on the NSW Planning Portal.

The implications of the LEC’s decision on the future zoning of the land that is the subject of the broader planning proposal (rezoning) will be considered in due course.

Thank you for your input. The submission period has now closed.

The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) has advised Council, and other stakeholders, that in relation to the appeal by Sealark Pty Ltd against the Independent Planning Commission’s refusal of the West Culburra Concept Proposal (State Significant Development subdivision), that the Court has granted the Applicant leave to rely on amended plans (the amended application). The amended application and accompanying documents are on public exhibition until Friday 26 February 2021.

The amended application can be viewed on the DPIE Major Projects website.

A copy of the Department’s letter to surrounding landowners and previous submitters can be viewed in the Document Library on this web page.

Please note that the appeal is for a development application refused by the NSW Independent Planning Commission under Division 4.7 State Significant Development (SSD) of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979. The SSD application covers part of the land within the Planning Proposal (rezoning) and, while it is a separate process, the outcome will inform the future zoning of the land to which it applies.

A report on the timing/progression of five ‘legacy’ planning proposals (PPs) is expected to be considered by Council’s Development & Environment Committee on 1 December 2020. The report was triggered by a letter from the NSW Department of Planning, Industry & Environment (DPIE) advising Council that PPs that are 4+ years old must be finalised by the end of the year (31/12/2020). The report outlines the options presented to Council by DPIE and seeks Council’s direction in respect of each PP.

You can confirm that the report is on the Committee’s meeting agenda by checking online from the Thursday preceding the meeting on Council’s Meeting and Agenda web page.

The meeting is open to the public, commences at 5pm, and will be held in the Council Chambers within the City Administrative Centre (Bridge Road, Nowra). Due to Covid-19 physical distancing requirements at this time, the Council Chambers are closed to the public. You can however view the meeting live on Council Meetings web page.

• A Video or Audio File containing a deputation which lasts no longer than three (3) minutes
• A Written submission no longer than four (4) A4 pages in length.

Deputation requests must be submitted prior to 3.00pm on the day of the meeting and you will be advised if your request has been approved. Any enquiries in this regard should be directed to Council’s Governance Unit on (02) 4429 3111.

The two-year groundwater monitoring study, undertaken as part of the Planning Proposal (rezoning) at Culburra, has been completed. The study was undertaken by consulting firm HGEO, for Council, and funded by the landowner (the Halloran Trust). This study is part of a suite of assessments being undertaken to inform the Planning Proposal.

The study involved real-time water level monitoring in a network of 28 bores (21 new and 7 existing) between Lake Wollumboola and the Crookhaven River over a two-year period. The key objective of the study was to delineate the groundwater catchment for Lake Wollumboola and groundwater flow directions within the area. The two-year baseline monitoring period was dominated by drought conditions, with several large rainfall events, including in early February 2020.

The key conclusion of the report is that the groundwater catchment boundary is effectively the same as the surface water catchment boundary. The results of the groundwater study will feed into water quality modelling and an integrated water cycle assessment, to ensure that the downstream waterways (Lake Wollumboola and the Crookhaven River) are protected.

The study significantly improves the understanding of groundwater behaviour in the area. The West Culburra Groundwater Assessment Report is published in the 'Document Library' on this web page.

Note: Community feedback will be sought when the Planning Proposal and supporting studies are publicly exhibited. This will not occur until all the required reports and State Government conditions have been met. Further updates will be provided through this Get Involved project page.

5 August 2019

An update report on the progress of the Biodiversity Certification process for the Halloran Trust Planning Proposals (PP006 and PP028) is expected to be considered by Council’s Development & Environment Committee at its meeting on Tuesday, 6 August 2019.

Overview

In April 2017, Council resolved to support, in principle, the preparation of a Biodiversity Certification Application for the Halloran Trust Planning Proposal (which was subsequently separated into PP006 for Culburra Beach and PP028 for Callala Bay and Kinghorne Point).

Council has now received the biodiversity certification reports from the proponent which are required to be submitted to the NSW Government by 25 August 2019. More detail is provided in the information report which will be published on the afternoon of the Friday prior to the meeting.

The meeting is open to the public and will be held in the Council Chambers within the City Administrative Centre, Bridge Road, Nowra commencing at 5pm. Any enquiries on making representations to the Committee meeting should be:

• Submitted online at https://shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au/My-Council/Council-meetings/Deputations-Council-Meetings, or

• Directed to Council’s Executive Support Manager on (02) 4429 3264.

Council has been advised that an appeal has been filed in the NSW Land and Environment Court against the refusal of the State Significant Development Application for the West Culburra Residential Concept Plan. Council has not received a copy of the appeal documents and does not know the details of what is now proposed.

Council's understanding is that NO appeal has been filed in respect of the Longbow Point Golf Course Development.

The appeal will be answered by the NSW Independent Planning Commission and Department of Planning and Environment. Any inquiries regarding this matter can be addressed to

Deanna Burn
Major Projects Assessments Team
Department of Planning
02 9274 6453

Please note that this appeal is not for the planning proposal. The appeal is for a development application that was refused by the NSW Independent Planning Commission as State Significant Development. This development application is separate to the planning proposal.

The NSW Independent Planning Commission has contact Council to advise that they have determined the Development Applications for the Long Bow Point Golf Course and for the West Culburra Concept Plan.

Both development applications were refused by the commission.

The West Culburra Concept Plan refusal documents are available online here:

The refusal instrument

The refusal report and reasons

A media release regarding the refusal

The Commission's Project Page

The Long Bow Point Golf Course refusal documents are available here:

The refusal instrument

The refusal report and reasons

The Commission's Project Page

Enquiries relating to these DAs can be directed to the Commission by telephone: (02) 9383 2100

Council has made a submission to the Independent Planning Commission in relation to the West Culburra Concept Plan application only.

The text of that submission is provided below:

- The report fails to consider the Shoalhaven Growth Management Strategy 2014 (GMS) in its consideration of the strategic context of the site.

- The GMS is a strategic plan that seeks to manage the social and economic implications of future growth in Shoalhaven whilst protecting and preserving the environmental values of the City.

- It was endorsed by the NSW Department of Planning on 20 May 2014. It is referenced in the Illawarra-Shoalhaven Regional Plan (ISRP) where it is noted alongside the Illawarra Urban Development Program (IUDP) as forming the strategic planning framework for the region, particularly in relation to the identification of urban investigation areas.

- The GMS identifies the land subject to the SSDA as being an existing urban expansion area that needed its planning controls reviewed in light of the Commission of Inquiry and Ministerial Decision on the proposed Long Bow Point subdivision. The GMS sets aside this precinct as an area for urban expansion within the limited environmental capacity of the land.

- The failure to consider the GMS leads the report to the erroneous conclusion that the site is not consistent with areas identified for urban expansion in the current strategic plans (page v)

- The report instead elevates the 2016 update report of the Illawarra Shoalhaven Urban Development Program (the UDP update) and assigns it the role of guiding the location of new urban development (page 20). This is not a valid application of the UDP update.

- The UPD update is a monitoring tool that is assembled from Council and agency data. It is intended to be informative only and is not intended to direct growth.

- The GMS is intended to direct growth and as such is subjected to substantial community engagement.

- Consequently, Council submits that the following reasons for refusal tabled by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment should not be adopted by the commission:

(a) (i) the site … is inconsistent with strategic planning for urban development across the region

The Independent Planning Commission has advised that a public meeting will be held on Tuesday 24 July 2018 at Culburra Bowling Club:

• 10:30am for the Golf Course DA
• 1:30pm for the West Culburra concept plan DA

Any decision on the DAs will NOT be made at the public meetings.

You can view the documents on the Commission’s website, including a registration form to speak at the public meetings.

You can also make a submission to the Commission online.

These development applications are separate to the planning proposal.

The Independent Planning Commission has contacted Council and provided an update on the process for the West Culburra Concept Application and the Longbow Point Golf Course application.

The Long Bow Point Golf Course application has been reported to the Independent Planning Commission. You can view the documents on the Commission’s website.

The Commission will be writing to submitters for both applications in the next day or two advising of the process for these applications. Council will provide a further update when this information is available via the Get Involved mailing list for the planning proposal.

There has been some confusion about how this relates to the planning proposal. The commission is NOT considering the planning proposal. It is considering two development applications that are being assessed by the NSW Government as State Significant Development. These development applications are separate to the planning proposal.