WORRIGEE resident Terry Earle is preparing another submission on Southern Community Housing’s latest amendment to its DA for a 35-lot subdivision of integrated housing.
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Mr Earle is concerned the community will be locked out of the issue now that it is being referred to the Land and Environment Court.
He is also wary of the reason Southern Community Housing has taken the issue to the Land and Environment Court.
“The issue was in the hands of the community’s elected delegates and I’m a bit concerned it has been referred to the Land and Environment Court.
“It seems the issue will be taken away from the elected representatives.”
Mr Earle said he had been told that he would need legal representation if he wanted to take his concerns over the development to the Land and Environment Court.
“We don’t have the money for that.
“It’s disappointing. Homeowners with mortgages, retirees and young families come up against something like this and can’t afford to be a part of it.”
Mr Earle said he believed Worrigee was already at risk of becoming too crowded and was concerned that the area had continued to grow with no indication of infrastructure or facilities to support the population.
“This area is getting too developed, the blocks are getting smaller and there are no facilities.
“I agree we need community housing, but it’s got to be closer to facilities like shops, doctors and schools, not on the edge of Nowra.
“The doctors and schools around here are already full.
“I’m concerned if community housing is going to put elderly people or single parents with a couple of young children in there, what if they don’t have a car? What do they do if they need to get to the chemist?
“There are two houses for sale in our street, why doesn’t community housing buy those?
“If a multi-millionaire bought the land and put up mansions I wouldn’t want that either.
“It’s about the fact that we bought here under the belief that the land would remain a reserve.
“I keep harking back to my belief that council had no right to sell that land in the first place, it was labelled as open space.
“The fact that council negotiated with Southern Community Housing behind closed doors, in confidential and the community weren’t made aware of it is very disappointing,” Mr Earle said.
Long wait means project deemed refused
SOUTHERN Cross Community Housing has the legal right to take its development application to the Land and Environment Court once the DA application had been held by council for 60 days.
“It’s been with council for more than 90 days, in fact it was 90 days back in February,” Southern Cross Community CEO Marg Kaszo said.
“Council has a set time in which to consider any DA. When that time elapses the application is deemed refused,” she said.
“The decision to lodge an appeal with the Land and Environment Court was a commercial decision.
“We have listened to the community and gone from 46 blocks down to 35. We have tripled the amount of vegetation that would remain and will be adding more landscaping to that.”
She said Cr Gareth Ward was right when he told the Register the project was tied to stimulus funds and had a completion date.
“Social housing is a solution, not a problem. We are looking at the needs of the region,” she said.
“We have a social obligation to more than 2000 people on a list waiting for housing.”
