Helensburgh landowners who have long held on to their bushland blocks with hopes of one day building a home have had their development dreams quashed by Wollongong City Council.
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At Monday's meeting, held to decide the future of lands formerly zoned as 7(d) Hacking River Environmental Protection, councillors voted 9-4 not to allow development in the area known as the Land Pooling precinct.
Instead they voted to rezone all but five lots to environmentally protected land.
The 207 lots in the Land Pooling precinct are owned by 94 people or companies.
Most landowners have owned their blocks for decades, after buying them in the 1970s and '80s under the assumption they would one day be able to build.
They were actively encouraged by the council at the time to pool the land and develop an alternative subdivision layout before building a house on one of the new blocks.
However, planning laws have not allowed houses on the land since 1951 and owners were never given a guarantee they would be able to build.
Mortdale resident Bruce Bennett bought a lot in the affected area in 1987 for about $14,000, hoping it would be rezoned to allow him to build a home in Helensburgh.
His late father Allan Bennett bought a block of land nearby.
Mr Bennett said he bought the land at the council's instigation and believed it should offer to buy the land back from owners to compensate them for its decision.
"Our hope was just to get the land developed so that my dad and his four sons could have space to build some houses," he said.
"We had reasonable expectations that this land would be developed, because the council at the time raised expectations among landowners and said yes this is worth developing.
"We were given assurances that if we pooled our land, we would be able to develop it."
"We would love to sell it, but at the moment there's no market for this land."
Councillor Leigh Colacino, who has lived in the area for 36 years, said he voted not to allow the development because it represented the majority views of Helensburgh residents.
"Helensburgh is special, because it is sitting right on the national park, the escarpment and water catchment protection area, so my decision was in keeping with that," he said. "Growth is a necessary part of the world ... but this was not the correct type of growth for that particular area."
Facts on reviewed zoned land
• The land affected by the latest Wollongong City Council review was formerly zoned as 7(d) Hacking River Environmental Protection.
• It is currently zoned as ‘‘E3’’ environmental land, which allows some development and houses.
• Under the council’s plans, a large portion of the land will become environmentally protected ‘‘E2’’ land.
• Councillors also voted to establish a mixed-zone ‘‘Gateway’’ precinct at the southern entrance of the town to allow for a business corridor as well as zoning Symbio Wildlife Park as tourism land.
• The latest review of the land’s rezoning began in 2007.
• The plans will be sent to the NSW Department of Planning.
