Kiama council finds flaws in 1000-home development

A report from Kiama Municipal Council staff in the business papers for Tuesday's meeting recommended the Springside Hill development not proceed to the NSW Planning department's Gateway stage due to a number of concerns.

The gateway stage allows the Planning Department to check out a proposal to see if it is suitable in its current form to progress to further assessment.

The council report said this progression shouldn't happen in the case of the Traders in Purple development because the site hasn't been identified for urban expansion in any of the council's existing strategic planning documents.

"Supporting the planning proposal at this point in time pre-empts any process currently being followed by council and in essence places the strategic planning process and decision making in a landowner's hands rather than council or the community," the report stated.

"Local government's role in leading planning and development should not be undermined by private landowners' right to seek development, but the processes for managing and planning growth ought to be followed."

It also claimed there was a lack of support from government agencies and concerns about it operating on the "undesirable outcome" of a standalone sewerage system.

The report suggested the standalone sewerage system could "undermine" the council's own advocacy work to see an upgrade of the town's facilities.

"Should this proposal be accepted, it will set a precedent for other developments and multiple standalone systems may result," the report stated.

"There are also questions concerning the perpetuity of such public amenity arrangements, equity in terms of fees and charges and management of associated stormwater and water catchment lands."

A letter from the NSW government's Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water department said the standalone system created "a concerning precedent for the next speculative planning proposal to also pursue".

The report also noted that there were some merits in the Springside Hill proposal.

"It is essential however that the appropriate strategic planning work occurs to allow for appropriate infrastructure provision and scheduling of sites to be well planned to achieve positive outcomes for the community," the report stated.

"As part of the recommendation in this report it is clearly stated that council needs to undertake further consultation with the community as part of the development of the growth and housing strategy on this site."

Traders In Purple CEO Brett Robinson said the Springside Hill project could help address the housing problem in Kiama.

"It is unfortunate that council staff have recommended that Springside Hill not be supported," Mr Robinson said.

"Our proposal could see homes coming out of the ground by 2027, which represents an immediate to short-term solution for housing supply in the area.

"Our view has always been that many solutions are required to fix Kiama's housing crisis, in the immediate, near and long term.

"Springside Hill offers an immediate solution and we are optimistic that the needs of the community will ultimately be addressed.

"We look forward to continuing to work with Council and the State Government to address the housing crisis in Kiama."

The report will go before councillors on Tuesday night.

The council papers also included a petition opposing the development signed by 642 residents - any petition collecting more than 100 signatures is included in the business papers.

The petition called on the council to not support the proposal and not refer to the site as Springside Hill "a name assigned by the developer and not a name endorsed by the local community or approved by the NSW Geographical Names Board".