Wollongong City Council has passed resolutions on 12 reports addressing 27 different precincts in the 7(d) land areas in Helensburgh, Otford and Stanwell Tops.
The reports to Council followed a review of the decisions made by the previous Council, a site tour and a public meeting attended by more than 240 people.
The 12 reports allowed Councillors to deal with each precinct as an individual area and address specific environmental, residential and business concerns for the different precincts.
The recommendations on each precinct will be sent to the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure for their review and determination.
If the Department allows Council to proceed with these recommendations, the draft Planning Proposals are expected to be exhibited for public comment in early 2012. They will be on public exhibition for a minimum of 2 months, and the community will be able to make submissions to Council during this stage.
If you’re interested, the minutes from the Council meeting on November 28 can be found on the website under ‘Meetings’.
All recommendations on the draft Planning Proposals will be available on Council’s website or you can call (02) 4227 7111 for further information.
Background
The 7(d) Hacking River Environmental Protection zone was introduced in the 1980s and 1990s as a means of limiting development to protect the water quality of the Royal National Park and Hacking River. The zone has resulted in inequities between adjoining landowners, those with and without dwelling houses, and has prevented many land owners from building a dwelling house on their land.
The 7(d) lands contain significant bushland which is connected to the Woronora Catchment area, Royal National Park and Illawarra Escarpment. The area is also the head waters of the Hacking River. The extensive bushland results in a high bushfire risk. Conversely, some of the 7(d) lands have been historically cleared for farming, tourism, coal mining, industrial uses and housing. There were 777 lots zoned 7(d) Hacking River Environmental Protection under the Wollongong Local Environmental Plan 1990. The lots are owned by 303 landowners and / or companies. The lots range in size from 42 square metres to 133 hectares. The majority of the lots (58 per cent or 457 lots) are between 500m2 and 2,000m2 in size. Only 108 of these lots contain dwellings.
There has been a long history associated with the conservation and possible development of the 7(d) lands, including the Helensburgh Commission of Inquiry (1994). One of the main issues is the permissibility of dwelling houses. Some owners have owned land since 1965, in the hope that planning controls may change to enable a house to be built. In other instances, planning controls have changed which has prevented a dwelling being built where it was previously permissible.
On 5 July 2011, Council resolved to:
1. Prepare a draft Planning Proposal to rezone 16 precincts. The NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure have granted permission for the Planning Proposal to be exhibited. Prior to exhibition the Planning Proposal is being reviewed by Council.
2. Retain the current E3 Environmental Management zone for 3 precincts.
3. Exhibit a draft Planning Agreement involving a land swap proposal that affects 7 precincts. The draft Planning Agreement is an early part of the community consultation process and Council is seeking community comment.
The draft Planning Agreement proposes the dedication of 321 hectares of land to Council for inclusion in the National Park. In exchange, the draft Planning Agreement seeks urban development within the Land Pooling and Lady Carrington Estate South precincts. The draft proposal also includes an exit strategy for third party land owners in the Lloyd Place, Central Bushland and Lilyvale precincts.
Following the public meeting on 21 November 2011, Council considered reports on the 7(d) lands to determine whether the draft Planning Proposal and draft Planning Agreement should be progressed, modified or not progressed. This was discussed at the Council meeting on 28 November 2011 and Council has passed resolutions on 12 reports addressing 27 different precincts in the 7(d) land areas in Helensburgh, Otford and Stanwell Tops.
Council Minutes 7d Resolutions 28 November, 2011
Community Information Session - 21 November 2011 - Speaker List
Council report - 25 May 2010 - Preliminary Report on 7d Submissions.pdf
Council report - 5 July 2011 - Final Report on 7d Submissions.pdf
Willana Report on 7d Lands 2009.pdf