We had an overwhelming response from our last email raising concerns about the changes to a Planning Proposal which would add 500 new homes to Broulee. Seven residents spoke at the Council Meetings Public Forum on Tuesday to raise their concerns. I raised the various concerns from those respondents who were unable to make the meeting.

I suggest you read the following Batemans Bay post articles which gives a good summary of the meeting.

• http://www.batemansbaypost.com.au/story/3166149/broulee-500-home-development-plan-hits-nerve-at-meeting/

• http://www.batemansbaypost.com.au/story/3171263/drawing-board-for-32-years-broulee-developer

Councillors ultimately ignored the requests to postpone the decision so the community could have more than 2 days to consider these major changes. They did however agree to hold 2 additional public meetings so that residents can meet with the Planners from council who wrote the Planning Proposal. This will occur while the Proposal is being approved in Sydney by the NSW Planning Minister. The Councillors also agreed to extend the formal community consultation period to 42 days once the Gateway Determination plan is approved by the Minister of Planning.

We have organised a special Community Association Meeting for Thursday 16th July 7pm to be held at Broulee Public School (we decided to wait until after the School Holidays to hold the meeting). Council planners will attend this meeting and will be there to answer your questions regarding the development and the process moving forward.


In the other item from Tuesdays Council Meeting to effect Broulee and Mossy Point residents, the Council also passed a motion to accept the tender from NELMAC Pty Ltd for construction of the new bridge at Candlagan Creek.

Council is meeting on Tuesday 23rd June at 10am.

There are 2 major items that impact Broulee and Mossy Point Residents and I urge you to review their meeting Agenda on the council website.

The first item is a Planning Proposal to be endorsed by Council in relation to the development of the Bangalay Sand Forest adjacent to George Bass Drive (from Broulee Road to Train Street). Many of you will remember this development from last year where Council worked with the Developers to gain special sign off from the NSW Minister for Environment allowing the clearing of this threatened forest.

Among other things this new Planning Proposal seeks to further rezone this area to allow for R3 Medium Density Housing and to reduce the lot size to 450m2. These changes would enable the developers to yield 500 new dwellings. This would result in an increase of 40% to the size of Broulee which they estimate will increase the population from 2300 to 3700 (a 60% increase). They recommend that the rezoning to Medium Density Housing will allow affordable housing to be developed which will facilitate a more diverse resident population from different economic backgrounds. I recommend that you read the Planning Proposal on the link above for all of the rationales and benefits.

The endorsement of this Planning Proposal is the first step in the planning process which will include a 28day community consultation process in August. But we would strongly recommend that you read this planning proposal before Tuesdays meeting.

If you feel strongly about this plan you can attend the meeting at Council at 10am on Tuesday. If you would like to speak you must register before midday on Monday by phoning Carol Hodges on 44741358. Members of the BMPCA will be attending the meeting so please respond to this email if you would like us to raise a matter on your behalf.

The second item of interest for Broulee and Mossy Point members is that Council accept the Tenderer to replace the Candlagan Creek Bridge. With works proposed to be completed before the commencement of the school holiday period in December 2015. Whilst the bridge is under construction the bridge will be closed to all traffic. Pedestrian access will be maintained using a temporary footbridge. Council have stated that they will conduct a community meeting to provide updated timeframes.