GCB Constructions not out of the woods yet? Still no completion date for Uniting's seniors living development in Yamba.

 

Artist's rendition of planned Uniting retirement/seniors living complex

IMAGE: CVC/Clarence Valley Independent, 30 October 2019

In 2020 the Uniting Church announced the extension of its “Caroona” aged care residential facility in Yamba to include a co-located complex of 34 villas and 50 one, two and three-bedroom apartments with a recreational area.

The building contractor chosen GCB Constructions Pty Ltd (located in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Lismore). Presumably because Uniting was satisfied with the previous 12 bed hostel build.

Work ceased on the complex sometime in early 2023 as GCB’s financial difficulties became apparent.

By beginning June GCB was facing “facing multiple court actions from suppliers, including a wind-up action”, however a spokesperson stated “GCB Constructions maintains a solvent position despite cashflow restraints.” “... we expect to have the majority of our teams back on site over the next week or so”.

Nevertheless, it does not appear that GCB Constructions has returned to the Yamba site, as the yet to be fully completed build remains silent and absent of noticeable activity.

On 21 June the Clarence Valley Independent described the situation as Uniting Yamba Road development in limbo with an accompanying photograph of the 50 apartment section of this development.

IMAGE: Clarence Valley Independent, 21 June 2023.
Photo Rodney Stevens

 

The Great Koala National Park is no closer to becoming a reality than it was when Labor made a commitment to such a park in January 2015

 

IMAGE: Animal Justice Party NSW

"Of more than 458 000 hectares of Areas of Regional Koala Significance (ARKS) mapped in NSW, only 21% are inside a National Park.

"One of our most iconic species is being subjected to native forest logging and out of control land clearing, and the National Parks estate can't save it unless something big changes.

"Koalas now face extinction in our lifetimes without urgent action. Yet their habitat has virtually no protection from the logging and clearing that is driving this decline.”

[Nature Conservation Council (NCC) chief executive Jacqui Mumford, 28 February 2023]

This was NSW Labor eight years and five months ago….

AAP General News Wire, excerpt, 19 January 2015:

Labor has announced it will work with the Wilderness Society to help nature conservation in NSW.

The Great Koala National Park proposal would take in 315,000 hectares of hinterland forest between Macksville and Woolgoolga, north of Coffs Harbour, combining 176,000 hectares of state forest with 140,000 hectares of existing protected areas.

The park will provide a lifeline to the population of about 4500 koalas that live in the region……

This was NSW Labor in 2023 at Day 81 of its new term as state government – still no further ahead than the talking points of 2015, ignoring the fact that Koala numbers in New South Wales had fallen from est. 36,000 in 2016 to perhaps as few as 11,000 remaining in the wild by 2020 and, as a political party as deep in the pocket of Forestry NSW as the Liberal & National parties…..

Excerpt from letter to the Clerk of the NSW Legislative Assembly from Minister for Climate Change, Minister for Energy, Minister for the Environment, Minister for Heritage & Labor MLC Penny Sharpe. Click to enlarge

Very little of what has been built in in the NSW North Rivers coastal zone appears to have a long habitable lifespan - so it's buyer beware

 

What is fascinating about this development application set out in the following article is that the Byron Bay local government area coastal zone generally, including Clifford Street, Suffolk Park, is expected to be impacted by ongoing storm surges, tidal incursion and then permanent sea level inundation beginning sometime between 2027 to 2030 – roughly four to seven years from now. With 9-15 Clifford Street being one of the last addresses to be affected in that street.

Most of the sea level rise scenarios indicate that 9-15 Clifford Street as a habitable dwelling space may only have a life of around 37 to 47 years if Australian east coast and global air and sea temperatures keep rising as steeply as they have in the last 40 years.

Barely enough time to pay off the mortgage before the unit/apartment becomes worthless.

The Echo, 7 June 2023:

The company behind a controversial mixed-use development in the heart of Suffolk Park has quietly submitted revised plans for the proposal as part of the ongoing court battle over the matter.

Sydney-based developer, Denwol Pty Ltd, took Byron Council to the Land & Environment Court after it refused their plans to build two new three-storey buildings, containing 16 units, seven town houses and 300m2 of commercial space at 9–15 Clifford Street.

Council had set out 17 separate reasons for refusing the development application when it was originally submitted last year, including factors related to the environmental impacts, design, bushfire risk and affordable housing claims.

With the formal court hearing getting underway last week, Denwol made an application to the court to submit amended plans for the project.

This followed an amended DA that was submitted in April which involved a significant reduction in the size of the development.

Published on Council’s website, these amended plans involve reducing in the number of residential apartments from 16 to seven, and the number of town houses from seven to six. There would be two retail tenancies.

Both buildings are reduced to two-storeys in the amended plans, though there is little difference in the overall height of the development.

There is also a significant increase in how far the buildings will be set back from the road, though this will require more trees to be cut down.

Resident, Lynne Richardson, said that the amended plans represented little change in practical terms because the overall footprint of the development was ‘much the same’.

Community excluded

She also said that the process by which the most recent amendment had been submitted had excluded the community.

‘I was enraged by the process,’ Ms Richardson said.

‘The only community members who were actually told were those who were due to give evidence during the hearing, and we were only given a few days’ notice to get our heads around the plans before doing that.

‘[Council’s lawyers, Marsdens] only told us a few days before we were due to give evidence, and they asked us to respect the confidentiality of the developer by not disseminating the new plans more widely. In my opinion, the newly modified plans should have been more widely circulated to the community. This affects all of them so they should have been told.’

The Echo understands that Council will continue to contest the matter in court, despite the submission of the modified plans by the developer.

BACKGROUND

Byron Shire Council - List of Applications Submitted, excerpt, retrieved 12 June 2023:

Original Development Application.

10.2022.137.1

Development Application 13/07/2022 15 Clifford St, Suffolk Park 2481 NSW

15A Clifford St, Suffolk Park 2481 NSW

9-13 Clifford St, Suffolk Park 2481 NSW

Demolition of Nine (9) Dwellings, Removal of Twenty Five (25) Native Trees and Construction of a Mixed Use Development Comprising of Two (2) Buildings including Commercial Premises and Multi Dwelling Housing being Twenty Three (23) Dwellings of which Twelve (12) will be Affordable Housing and Swimming Pools.

Details here including latest modification submitted this year.

Existing dwellings

Byron Shire Council flood mapping showing part of Clifford Street

The Minns Labor Government – one step forward three steps back

 

A brief look at the Minns Labor Government six weeks into its term in office…...

PROMISE KEPT

The West Australian, 24 March 2023:

If elected, Mr Minns said his first act of legislation would be to put “Sydney Water in the NSW constitution, stopping future governments enacting a backdoor fire sale” of state-owned assets…..

The Constitution Amendment (Sydney Water and Hunter Water) Bill 2023 was introduced into the NSW Parliament on 10 May and passed by both Houses on 1 June 2023

BROKEN PROMISE ONE

Shepparton News, 12 December 2022:

A NSW Labor government would legislate an end to the practice of rent bidding, to curb the spiralling cost of tenancy.

The promise ahead of the March election comes amid skyrocketing Sydney rents as well as those in regional areas, with NSW's median rent increasing from $386 to $420 a week between 2016 and 2021.

With one in three NSW households now renters, Opposition Leader Chris Minns says Labor has prepared legislation banning secret bidding, a practice where prospective tenants are pitted against one another to secure properties…..

Ending the practice of ‘rent bidding’ placed in the too hard basket in the first week of June 2023

ON THE ROAD TO A BROKEN PROMISE TWO

The New South Wales Labor party will establish a new national park stretching from Kempsey to Coffs Harbour in a bid to save the state’s endangered koala population.

On Thursday the opposition leader, Chris Minns, will announce that the party will re-commit to establishing the “great koala national park” on the NSW north coast, which could see an area of about 300,000 hectares of key habitat for the native species protected from logging.

The park, which Labor has promised in the past two state elections, is likely to anger the timber and logging industry, which has previously claimed it would cost the state thousands of jobs. Other estimates claim the park would add about $1bn to the state’s economy over 15 years.

The Minns Government is spinning its wheels on this promise – seemingly by design - as Forests NSW lay waste to prime koala habitat within the precincts of the proposed “Great Koala National Park”. The term Extinction Crisis appears to mean little to this new crop of state ministers even if they are part of the Australian Labor Party.

BREAKING: Two women lock-on continues to stop logging in Orara East State Forest for a 2nd day.https://t.co/VU4X8XJZ4l
Today Tiff and Ruby have immobilised the forest harvester that was meant to be felling trees within the GKNP.
🐨 #GKNP #EndNativeForestLogging #nswpol pic.twitter.com/KqGO0HJUMt

— Australian Forests and Climate Alliance (@AFCA_Forests) June 7, 2023

BROKEN PROMISE THREE

Byron Echo, 15 February 2023:

According to Labor leader Chris Minns, ‘NSW has experienced an escalating number of major flood events in recent years’.

‘It’s increasingly clear that we cannot continue to develop and build on dangerous floodplains, and risk putting more people in harm’s way…..

‘NSW Labor will adopt a proactive approach to planning and mitigating against the impact of floods and charge one minister with the responsibility of stopping further development on dangerous floodplains…..

Coastal development continues apace on large coastal floodplains with no attempt by the Minns Government to curb this risky practice. This is but one example....

IMAGE: The Daily Telegraph, 3 May 2023

Unfortunately, this is not an exhaustive list of issues.

NSW GOVERNMENT 'NORTHERN RIVERS RESILIENT LAND STRATEGY' STATE OF PLAY 2023: in its current form not worth the paper it is printed on

 

Northern Rivers Resilient Lands Strategy –Summary Report: Helping provide a safer, more sustainable and more resilient Northern Rivers, 1 June 2023:

The Northern Rivers Resilient Lands Strategy is part of the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC)’s $100 million Resilient Lands Program.

The Resilient Lands Program is part of a suite of measures the NRRC is coordinating to deliver a sustainable supply of land and housing for flood

impacted residents in high risk areas in the Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed Local Government Areas.

The Resilient Lands Program has been designed to complement, not replace, business-as-usual land release and housing development in the region. The Resilient Land Strategy identifies land that will be accelerated for delivery with funding support provided under the Program.

The Resilient Lands Program is being delivered in conjunction with the NRRC’s $700 million Resilient Homes Program that focuses on raising, retrofitting and voluntary purchase of homes impacted by the 2022 floods.

After the Acknowledgement Of Country the aforementioned four short paragraphs are the NSW Government, Dept. of Regional NSW & Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC)’s introduction to its long awaited draft resilient lands strategy.

It goes on in the Foreword to state:

The Strategy identifies 22 sites that could support

climate resilient residential development across each

of the Northern Rivers Local Government Areas. Fifteen

sites have been earmarked for immediate on-ground

investigations, to enable flood impacted residents to

move out of areas severely impacted by the 2022 floods.

The Strategy also identifies a further seven sites of

strategic significance for long-term resilience. These

sites that are identified as potentially suitable for

development in the longer term may help reduce the

need to undertake a similar region-wide land suitability

assessment should future natural disasters occur in

the Northern Rivers.

The authors of this draft document end the eight paragraph Foreword with a nausea inducing bout of self-congratulation:

The Resilient Lands Expert Panel, who has assisted in

the preparation of the document, is thankful that our

skills and professional expertise have been able to

contribute to the recovery initiative but humbled by the

experience of people who lived through the flood event,

many of whom remain impacted. We hope that this

document will assist in ensuring that safe and secure

accommodation can be made available for all affected

going forward.

That last paragraph on Page 5 completed setting the tone for what is essentially a twenty-four page collection of pious wishes, vaguely-worded ‘plans’ and the carefully worded announcement of a funding feeding frenzy by land speculators and both private & corporate property developers.

Given the political influence of the development & construction industry lobbies, it is easy to suspect that ‘affordable housing’ will be taking a back seat in the NSW Minns Labor Government’s specific plans for north-east New South Wales – albeit these plans were inherited from the Berejiklian-Perrottet Coalition Government which preceded it.

At Pages 7 & 8 the draft document states:

Land identified in the Strategy was also reviewed by the Resilient Lands Expert Panel (the Panel), an independent panel of experts with backgrounds in urban planning, environmental management, community development, Indigenous knowledge and climate resilience.

The Panel’s recommendations identified 22 short, medium and long-term development sites across the seven Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed with potential capacity for up to 10,300 dwellings.

Work has now commenced on the planning and delivery of the 15 short-term sites identified within the Strategy. This will ensure residents impacted by the 2022 floods can relocate to new housing as soon as possible.

The Strategy also identifies a further seven medium and long-term sites for broader regional planning efforts to support longer term community resilience.

What does the Resilient Lands Strategy mean for

residents impacted by the floods?

The Strategy identifies a total of 22 potential development sites across the Northern Rivers on both private and public land. Fifteen sites are for immediate investigation for flood impacted residents with capacity for approximately 7,800 dwellings. Seven further sites with capacity for approximately 2,500 dwellings have been identified as sites of strategic significance for longer term resilience…..

Why doesn’t the NRRC just acquire and develop land?

In some instances, acquisition and development of land by government will have a role to play under the Program. However, using a range of approaches that aim to remove barriers and encourage the delivery of land and housing by the development sector and government will maximise housing supply outcomes across the region.

For example, using the entire $100 million available under the Resilient Lands Program to acquire land and develop housing could be expected to deliver approximately 200–300 dwellings to the market over the next three to four years.

On the other hand, a modest, up-front investment by government to deliver important water and sewer infrastructure upgrades that are preventing the release of land can unlock significant housing supply and better support the feasibility and delivery of residential development areas.

Taking an approach that is tailored to the characteristics of each individual site will ensure the Program delivers the most housing in the right locations as possible.

Where any financial support is provided to the development sector through the Resilient Lands Program, it will be conditional on prioritising access to any new housing for flood affected residents.

I think that the Labor MLA for Lismore Janelle Saffin put it best when she told ABC News on Friday, 2 May 2023:

Ms Saffin said the corporation's communication skills left many questions unanswered.

"We are desperate for detail, our community that has been physically and psychologically battered, and this doesn't give us any more detail about when, time frames, how, who," Ms Saffin said.

"I've been a very vocal critic of the NRRC's inability to communicate and this release just highlights it even more."….

"We've all watched the series Utopia [and] the idea of comms management is not to do anything," Ms Saffin said.

While Greens MLA For Ballina Tamara Smith was quoted in The Guardian on the same day:

The MP for Ballina, Tamara Smith, called on the government to release better maps that provide more detail.

“How can we as a community make informed submissions about what will be huge new residential developments when we don’t actually know where they are?” she said.

“Our community deserves utter transparency and I am disappointed that we are not getting more information in order to make meaningful submissions to the draft.”

In another section of that article these succinct quotes also mirrored the feelings of more than a few locals:

A mayor who spoke to Guardian Australia on condition of anonymity said they believed the government was being “very optimistic” with its goals, calling the lack of detail so far provided to councils and the community “really crap”.

This is an example of mapping used in the draft document at Pages 15 to 22:

It would appear that the state government and its agencies are determined to play those land strategy cards close to their chest and at the same time minimise whatever negative media reports may emerge.

It is doing this by treating the entire Northern Rivers regional population of est. 312,747 men, women and children (.idcommunity, 2022) as so many mushrooms which need to be kept in the dark. At the same time holding a media briefing in which the Draft Resilient Lands Strategy was explained in some detail (accompanied by visual aids) and all journalists questions answered—under a total ban on dissemination of said information by said journalists.

This Northern Rivers resident’s assessment of the state of play in June 2023?

The NSW Government, Dept. of Regional NSW and Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation have provided local government and communities with:

1. no genuine time frame;

2. broad statements but no real details;

3. an incorrect assessment of some land being shovel ready for development in 2024;

4. maps so ill-defined that they are all but useless in identifying which land is to be developed;

5. no outline of the type/number/provisional costings of tenders that might be required for land preparation and supporting infrastructure or tenders which have already been approved; and

6. an unrealistic expectation that this particular Resilient Lands Strategy can deliver what has been promised to the people of the Northern Rivers region.

YAMBA STATE OF PLAY: an example of state and local government wilful blindness that continues to this very day

A view of the lower section of Carrs Drive,
West Yamba Urban Release Area
IMAGE: Clarence Valley Independent, 7 May 2023

The original 127ha West Yamba Urban Release Area (WYURA) sits on a 690ha natural flood storage plain. 

This was an established fact in the early 1990s when urban settlement of this area was first mooted. It was still an established fact in 1995 when the local council adopted its Land Use Strategy. 

It remained an established fact when WYURA first came into effect in 2010 with amendments to the Maclean LEP 2001 allowing the amalgamated Clarence Valley Council to house between 2,000-2,500 people on flood liable land within a reduced 121ha urban release area.

It continued as an established fact in 2015 when Clarence Valley Council confirmed its ongoing intention to allow more dwellings per hectare via manufactured housing estates and therefore more people to be settled on this floodplain within the larger Lower Clarence River floodplain. 

Something then Clarence Valley Mayor and current NSW Nationals MLA for Clarence Richie Williamson called "good news for local development". Going on to say; "There's between 950 to 1000 lots and other land owners in the area will be moving forward with their developments. It's a massive development." 

It was an established fact in the years from 2015 to the present day, during which Clarence Valley Council received at least 9 largescale and 2 small scale subdivision applications on this flood liable land.

Look at that photograph again. At best, even with planned landfill this area will see 2,000+ men, women and children isolated in their homes when the road system is cut off by flood waters. 

Literally many hundreds of these residents will be retirees - with sometimes high levels of physical vulnerabilities. It is hard to see how emergency services, in a Yamba containing est. 7,000-8,000 residents by the time West Yamba is almost fully developed, will be able to cope during inundation caused by high rainfall events combining with a large riverine floods or heavy ocean storm surges.

The property developers don't care what the future holds, so it's more than time for Clarence Valley Council and the NSW Minns Government to enter emergency discussions concerning an immediate moratorium of further development in the West Yamba Urban Release Area.

Is everyone with any authority still playing Pass The Parcel with the health and safety of communities on NSW coastal floodplains? Will the Northern Rivers see effective state planning legislation amendments before the next big flood? Will local governments across the region stiffen their spines & act?

The Echo, 11 May 2023:

Development site at 60 Tringa Street, Tweed Heads, on Cobaki Creek.

Both the Tweed District Residents Association (TDRA) and Kingscliff Ratepayers and Progress Association (KRPA) have recently called for a moratorium on existing legacy or zombie development approvals (DAs) on floodplains. The state government continues to say that councils have the ability to deal with these problematic DAs, but the evidence seems to say otherwise.

The failure of current legislation to stop legacy DAs is of particular concern to the TDRA which has been seeking stop work orders on the recent activity by MAAS Group Holdings at Tweed on Cobaki Creek. MAAS bought the property, with a 27-year-old legacy development approval on it, last year for $20M+ and have started clearing the sensitive site. The Tweed Council have asked MAAS to ‘cease work’, but MAAS have declined leaving both Council and locals frustrated with their inability to stop the work and have the site reassessed in relation to flood and environmental impacts of the DA.

NSW Premier

Responding to The Echo NSW Premier Chris Minns, who spoke to community representatives on the issue of legacy developments in the lead-up to the NSW election said, ‘My office will be working closely with the planning minister as the government works on new rules to stop new developments on dangerous floodplains – having been on the ground in the region over the past couple of years, I know how important it is to get this addressed.’

The Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) told The Echo that, ‘The government is committed to drafting new rules and streamlining planning processes to stop new developments on dangerous floodplains’ yet they have thrown responsibility back to councils saying they already have the legal power to look at legacy developments.

‘Councils already have legal power under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act to take action against existing zombie developments, and DPE tightened planning rules in 2020 to clamp down on new ones,’ a DPE spokesperson said.

‘Councils also have powers to investigate and take enforcement action if they are concerned whether physical commencement has occurred, or if any part of the development does not comply with the relevant consent….

Action needed now

Peter Newton from KRPA responded to the DPE’s statement saying ‘it’s disappointing that the department has thrown this on Council’s shoulders given that it is obvious the legislation is not strong enough for Council to actually prevent legacy developments from proceeding, such as Cobaki, where the Council “cease” orders have been disregarded. The legislation is not working and needs the state government to step in and commit to reform.’

Tweed Council’s General Manager, Troy Green also highlighted the current failures in Council’s powers to take action on these types of DAs.

‘There has been no change in Council or state policy concerning floodplain development post the 2022 floods. The NSW State Government Flood Inquiry made various recommendations concerning floodplain development from which there have been no subsequent directions from the government,’ Mr Green told The Echo…...

Read the full article here.