The proposed residential future of the Corrimal Cokeworks site has been more than five years in the making.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Last month, developers lodged a development application for the first stage of construction at the site.
The Illawarra Coke Company ceased operations there in 2014 - just two years after it marked its centenary.
The writing was on the wall for the facility, with ICC already closing their Coalcliff plant a year earlier.
"Some men haven't got jobs to go to and they realise the employment situation in the Illawarra for industrial workers like themselves is somewhat bleak," company managing director Rex Wright said in 2014.
Read more: Future looks bleak for Oak Flats shops
The plans for a residential precinct really got started in 2019 when ICC handed in its pollution licence to the Environment Protection Authority.
This was when an application was lodged with Wollongong City Council to rezone the site, which had an industrial classification.
As part of that process it was revealed that ICC's plan was to build 694 dwellings on the site - that number was to be a sticking point for several years.
Residents raised objections about the height of some buildings, over-development and the effect the extra traffic would have on nearby suburban streets.
"The traffic is the biggest issue but you can't separate traffic from pedestrian issues. That's huge," resident Anne Marret said at the time.
"It's way too huge at the moment. It's now more than 730 homes and at the moment [developer and ICC director Kate Strahorn] she is only planning one access to it, on Railway Street.
"Even if it is half that size there has to be another access space coming in and out of it - maybe a slip-off from Memorial Drive."
In October 2018 ICC teamed up with property developer Legacy to work on the residential vision.
The following year, changes were made to the development plans - but not in terms of the number of homes.
There would still be around 700 homes on the site but the developer added more open space in including a park and community garden.
"Our revised master plan focuses on housing diversity, a great mix of residential product including medium density, townhouses and apartment blocks," Legacy's Mike Williams said.
"Now we have also included housing for older people in the form of seniors living and aged care facilities."
The first works that could be done on the site was the demolition of existing structures and that caused controversy in May 2019.
Council had to step in and place an interim Heritage Order on the cokeworks after ICC and Legacy had received a private certifier's approval to knock down buildings.
"Council raised concern with the developer that demolition of any structures at this point in time would be inconsistent with council's April 2018 resolution to advance the rezoning proposal subject to a local heritage listing of part of the site," a council spokesperson said.
Ms Strahorn considered the council's actions as "unnecessary" but said it would defer any demolition work.
Wollongong councillors blasted ICC and Legacy over the private certifier move.
"It takes away the trust that the proponent is trying to get the community to have in them," Cr Janice Kershaw said.
While Legacy had pledged a commitment to retaining the heritage of the site, then councillor Jenelle Rimmer wasn't buying it.
"I'm not sure how the proponents can say they have a commitment to the heritage significance when you want to demolish all the buildings," Cr Rimmer said.
"You don't engage with a private certifier to demolish all buildings and then have an expectation that we will trust that you want to protect those structures."
In July 2020, Cr Rimmer went further in a council debate where the cokeworks was heritage-listed.
"On the one hand we have developer saying they want to protect the heritage, and on the other they are tightly holding on to their approval," she said,
"Do we go ahead and trust them? Do we trust them to have the heritage protection at the forefront of their decisions? No, I do not."
Ms Strahorn told councillors "it was not then, is not now and has never been our intention to demolish any structures of high significance other than in an agreed plan."
In October 2020, another ICC/Legacy master plan stuck with plans for between 735 and 760 homes but the council passed a motion limiting it to a maximum of 550 homes - building height was also restricted to four storeys.
In April 2021, the developers came back with new plans to build 585 dwellings, 35 of which would be affordable housing.
Ms Strahorn said the proposal "delivers the 550 dwellings requested by council plus 35 affordable rental dwellings for key workers such as nurses teachers, police and fire fighters".
A 100-metre buffer zone between the development and a resident grey-headed flying fox camp was also added.
The rezoning of the site was finally approved in May 2022 by the NSW Department of Planning.
"We want to bring this derelict land into the 21st century by providing 550 new homes and nine hectares of parklands close to existing services, including Corrimal railway station," the department's executive director of local and regional planning Malcolm McDonald said.
At the same time, Ms Strahorn said any construction was at least 12-18 months away.
In December 2022 Legacy project director Peter Navratil said there would be a 200-metre heritage strip, which would include a restaurant or brewery and could host events like Spring into Corrimal.
Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content. Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play.