Controversial plans for a new skydiving headquarters to be built at North Wollongong’s Stuart Park have been relaunched, just weeks after they were temporarily grounded by a successful court challenge.
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Skydive the Beach has re-submitted its proposal to build an administration building and kiosk at the beach-side park in an effort to overcome “defective” development consent given by Wollongong City Council.
Earlier this month, the Land and Environment Court found public notices about the plans had omitted a “significant and material element” of the plan: the demolition of the existing amenities block and the council’s administration facility.
Justice Tim Moore ordered that the building approval be suspended to allow the plan to be reconsidered.
The plans are now back on public exhibition through the council’s website until November 16.
The administration building plans are unchanged, however documents available on the council’s website – dated from early 2015 – show two clear red-dotted outlines, demarcating the public toilet and council administration building which will be knocked down.
Skydive’s long-running efforts to build its headquarters in the park – next to the landing site where up to 280 sky-jumpers fly in a day – hit major turbulence early last year after the council finally approved the plans following extended negotiations.
Community group Protect Our Parks Incorporated’s (POPI) launched a legal challenge, arguing the proposal was prohibited in a public recreation area, and that the plan was not compatible with the Stuart Park plan of management.
These grounds were rejected, however the company and the council were jointly ordered to pay the group’s legal costs after Justice Moore upheld that council notification was invalid.
According to the court order, assessments of Skydive’s amended application will be undertaken by an officer of the council but not by the council’s Development Assessment and Certification Manager Mark Riordan or development project officer Nigel Lamb.
Additionally, any further assessment report will be referred to the council’s Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel (IHAP) before development consent is re-granted.
The company’s application for a new building at the park’s edge was deferred by IHAP late in 2014 as the location was inappropriate; amended plans were recommended conditional approval in early 2015.
In April last year, councillors voted 8-4 to negotiate exclusively with Skydive the Beach on lease terms to make way for the new building in Stuart Park.