A rezoning proposal which could deliver up to 280 new houses on environmental management and conservation-zoned land near Helensburgh has been put out for public comment.
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But a Wollongong City Council report from July, which assesses the proposal, is being kept secret from the public while they make their submissions.
As revealed by the Mercury in August the land, 25.5 hectares between Lilyvale and Otford roads known as Lady Carrington Estate South, or sometimes as Bob's Bushland, is sought for development.
It has had a contentious history.
The summary of council's report, which went to the independent Wollongong Local Planning Panel, said the land did have strategic potential for residential housing, but was not consistent with council's previous resolution for the site [2013] , or with a current council strategy for the area.
"The rezoning is inconsistent with the mapping shown in the Illawarra Biodiversity Strategy and the Conservation Mapping in the Illawarra Shoalhaven Regional Plan," the summary stated.
"The attached draft council report (confidential) provides a detail background to the site, the relevant issues and an assessment of the planning proposal request."
The application has been lodged by Burrell Legal and Planning, a Kogarah law firm.
At a closed meeting in July, the WLPP deliberated over the site and eventually recommended the plan proceed to a "gateway determination" by the state government.
This was because while Wollongong City Council had objected to the rezoning, previous intervention by state authorities convinced the WLPP there may be strategic merit to the plan.
"On this basis, the panel is of the view that the proposal has merit and the site is generally suitable for residential development," its report says.
"The panel considers that potential future residential development should be concentrated around the generally cleared parts of the site and that the existing bushland area to the northwest should be retained, as it was observed to be in a relatively pristine bushland condition."
The WLPP then gave advice as to what changes should be made for the rezoning proposal to be acceptable: a park in the centre of the housing estate, a bushland area should be preserved, and consideration given to boundary adjustments, were all recommended by the WLPP.
Comments are open until January 31 via Wollongong City Council's Have Your Say page online.
Ben Langford
Senior journalist writing on the environment. Opinion columnist, independent. We rely on your news tips so please, don't be shy to let us know what's going on.
Senior journalist writing on the environment. Opinion columnist, independent. We rely on your news tips so please, don't be shy to let us know what's going on.
