Barrack Heights resident vents fury at Housing NSW

The self-approval of developments by Housing NSW has raised the ire of communities and councils along the South Coast.Contentious developments that have bypassed council guidelines include proposals for Market St, Wollongong, and Belinda St, Gerringong.But what happens when the development differs from the plans that were advertised?Barrack Heights resident Kerry Southwell has a Housing NSW stimulus project being built next door to him. Three single-level houses in The Kingsway have been demolished to make way for 12 units.Having owned his house for 38 years, Mr Southwell has no problem with new homes, but he does have a problem with the amount of fill being used on the project.Mr Southwell said plans he was given showed the fill would be no higher than 90cm and at least 6m away from his fence.The fill is now at a level he estimates at 3.5m and comes within a metre of his fence.There is also a stormwater outlet to run down the fence that he said wasn't in the plans.But finding someone to complain to has proved difficult."I had to ring nine people just to get someone I could talk to," Mr Southwell said."You pay rates but the council can't do anything because they don't know about it, so you complain to the government department and they say there is nothing they will do."We were given 21 days to look at the plans and the plans had half the detail. I'm pissed off."Shellharbour MP Lylea McMahon said she would take the concerns to Housing NSW and the NSW Department of Planning.A Housing NSW spokesman said private certifying authorities (PCAs) were engaged to issue a certificate of occupancy. "They are required to sign off compliance of the building with the approved construction certificates and conditions of consent," the spokesman said."The drawings used for planning approval form part of the conditions of consent ... PCAs are required to conduct a series of reviews (during) the project."Any person has a right of appeal under Section 123 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act."