Photo: LEA HAWKINS
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
CALLALA Marina Consultancy Group has applied to lease 48 hectares of sea bed and foreshore in Jervis Bay as part of its plan to build a 500-berth facility by 2020.
The NSW Planning Department is also assisting the group by convening a planning focus meeting which it is believed will involve the various government departments with interests in Jervis Bay.
The group knows it is in for a long-term and expensive haul but said it had the passion, energy and support to push the concept of a marina in Jervis Bay further than it has been pushed in the past 30 years.
Nowra architect Colin Irwin’s company i architecture is on board with the project in a design capacity.
Mr Irwin’s company specialises in ecologically sustainable design and has previously been involved in residential and commercial projects in environmentally sensitive locations.
“We are involved because we believe the project has great merit,” Mr Irwin said.
“We believe this is going to have to be a world-class development in sustainable design, which is our specialty.
“One of the most obvious features to this concept is the roof which would be completely landscaped and no higher than the current reserve [adjacent to Marine Parade].
The concept of green roofs is well known in Europe and the US, however Australia is still picking
up on the environmental benefits it offers.
“Our own Parliament House in Canberra is a great example, and is a project on which I worked during its design and construction.
“It could provide an ideal amenity for the local residential neighbourhood and enhances their ability to use more open space.
“We are aware the project has a long way to go but all the information we have at the moment indicates that the location is right and the concept has the basis of a workable design.
“This has got to get out into the community for comment and to bring out the concerns and issues but also the potential and we welcome public comment,” Mr Irwin said.
Callala Marina Consultancy Group member Bruce Mullaney said he was most concerned at this stage with showing that the facility could be commercially viable.
“Nobody is going to invest millions of dollars into something like this unless it can show that it is commercially viable,” he said.
“A marina would rely on an income from the moorings of the boats, as well as gaining income from whatever else was built on the site.
“It will take a couple of years before things get serious and then the world economy could be back in business again,” he said.
Mr Mullaney suggested it would be beneficial to have the planning to a stage where a developer or group of developers would be willing to take it on.
Mr Mullaney believes that because the proposal is designed over the rock reef, it would pose minimal environmental impact.
“Through the meetings I’ve been to I have learned that there are a lot of different sites that have been suggested over the years.
“We think out of all the sites this is probably the one with the least environmental impact.
“That has to be substantiated by someone who was qualified to do so.
“A figure of $300,000 was put to me to do a study like that, but no one is going to spend that kind of money until there are people in favour of it,” he said.