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October 2, 2015
Your independent community newspaper - Ph: 4325 7369
Issue 78
Ourimbah boarding house receives conditional approval espite ongoing opposition from the community, the Ourimbah boarding house Development Application has received conditional approval from the Joint Regional Planning Panel.
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Representatives of the Ourimbah community, through their Stop Glen Road Development Action Group and the Ourimbah Region Residents Association Inc, (ORRA) delivered speeches against the DA for the boarding house at the JRPP meeting held in the Wyong Council Chambers on September 24. Mr Allan Benson, Mr Greg McGill, Ms Di Willard and Ms Lesley Peden, all delivered speeches with Mr Benson highlighting concerns about the construction of the slab at the base of the development. Mr McGill outlined the development’s incompatibility with the surrounding area.
Ourimbah residents with member for Dobell Karen McNamara
Ms Willard addressed issues with drawings and other planning information supplied as false or misleading and Ms Peden argued that late document submission was unfair and impactful on the hearing. Mr Benson presented his concerns with the suspended slab in three sections: a flood study, structural loading issues
and creek debris. According to Mr Benson, a hydrologist he petitioned to conduct a flood study confirmed that the structure would risk diverting floodwater back towards the property neighbouring the development, which may cause significant additional flooding to the driveway and beyond. Another argument
from Mr Benson addressed concerns about debris being cleared from the creek by having creek access through the slab. Mr Benson concluded his speech by arguing that too many questions remained surrounding the slab, and urged the JRPP to suspend its construction and therefore disallow the west wing of the
development. Mr McGill’s address to the JRPP involved several cases from the Land and Environment Court that supported the idea that the boarding house was not in compliance with Section 79C of the EPA Act, the local character and public interest tests. “In past submissions, we’ve presented what we believed to be many
watertight reasons why the DA does not fit the local character test,” Mr McGill said. “But after four public exhibitions, two panel meetings and innumerable extensions to fixed deadlines, the DA has still not been rejected. “So this time, we’re going to tie our arguments to precedents from the Land and Environment Court to show not only that it should be rejected here tonight but that it also has no chance of ever being approved by the Court,” he said. Mr McGill brought up concerns about noise, overlooking and overshadowing issues for the current neighbour and presented the case of Project Venture Developments v Pittwater Council in 2005, in which the court rejected the DA saying physical impacts, such as noise, overlooking and overshadowing which
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