South West Rocks continued development

No these developments did not go to a Council meeting. Planning legislation does not require developments of this nature to be presented at a Council level. 

The proposal for Steve Eagleton Drive was assessed and approved in 2019 by staff under Delegated Authority after internal and external referral. Councillors were notified of the proposal in December 2018 when it was circulated to them as a significant development.

The development area at Settler's Ridge was approved at a State level and is to be developed in stages. 

The developments numbered T6-17-177 and T6-20-211 at Settlers Ridge, marked on the image below, were assessed and approved by Council staff under Delegated Authority after being found to comply with the conditions of the Major Projects approval.

An additional development T6-20-507 is still being assessed by Council under Delegated Authority.

The population in South West Rocks has been growing rapidly in recent times and is projected to increase in the coming years.

The percentage increase in population growth in South West Rocks has been relatively high by comparison to both Kempsey Shire and NSW for several decades. This is consistent with the trend of increasing populations on the NSW Coast.

South West Rocks is expected to experience the most significant growth within the shire.

According to the most recent suveys and projections, the population of South West Rocks is estimated to grow by 2,575 residents by 2036, nearly a 50% increase on the current population. Such a population growth would require an estimated additional 1,200 new dwellings or increased housing density.

The development area at Settlers Ridge in South West Rocks was a Major Project Assessment carried out by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment between 2010 and 2019.

View the determinations by the Major Projects team.

The proposal involves the clearing of 12.35 ha overall. Plans allow for a 138 lot development.

Phase 1 Stage 1 (T6-17-177) has already been completed.

The next stage (T6-20-211) is currently being cleared after the developer gave the required 48 hours notice.

The remaining stage (T6-20-507) is with council waiting on additional information from the applicant.

As a part of planning for the development, a large area neighbouring the development, identified in green below, has been established as a biodiversity stewardship site by the NSW state government under the previous biodiversity stewardship scheme.

A biodiversity stewardship site involves a landholder agreeing to conserve native vegetation and threatened species across their property in return for ecosystem credits (given for protecting vegetation communities) and species credits (given for protecting threatened plant and animal species). 

In this case the biodiversity stewardship site takes up 28.8 hectares out of the total 40.4 hectares of the total site.

As a declared biodiversity stewardship site, it will not be cleared or developed upon, with the exception of some Asset Protection Zones along the residential boundary which will be cleared to reduce fire risk.

The Kempsey Local Aboriginal Land Council (KLALC) have been involved in the application process during the developer's negotiations with state government and were consulted as part of a cultural heritage assessment report prepared by archaeologists and provided to the state government in 2011.

As part of the conditions of consent, a representative from the KLALC went over the ground rules with Council representatives and developers on the first day of works beginning on tree removal. This included discussion of any matters of cultural heritage on or near the site.

An observer from KLALC will be present for the duration of tree removal works as well as for any earth moving.

No, the development has been approved by the state government.

The developer has been granted consent to carry out this stage of development work subject to meeting the conditions of approval. 

Council is still assessing further stages for compliance with the Major Projects Team approval.

The conditions for the development currently underway at Settlers Ridge can be found in the Notice of Determination(PDF, 479KB).

The site at 13-19 Steve Eagleton Drive in South West Rocks recently saw the site cleared of trees for an approved 27 lot subdivision.  

The subject site is a block of bushland neighbouring the Coles shopping complex that has been zoned residential since 1987, surrounded by built out residential, business, and industrial land.

The developer of the residential zoned block had the subdivision approved in 2019 subject to a variety of heritage and biodiversity conditions.

The subject site is a block of bushland that has been zoned residential since 1987, surrounded by built out residential, business, and industrial land. 

A subdivision proposal for the block at 13-19 Steve Eagleton Drive was lodged on the 3rd of December 2018 and assessed and approved in 2019 under Delegated Authority after internal and external referral.

External referral was sent to the Kempsey Local Aboriginal Lands Council for a Heritage Assessment Report and the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Biodiversity Conservation Trust for consideration into the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme. Both referrals recommended development approval subject to conditions. Council’s approval duly imposed those conditions.

The Steve Eagleton Drive site has an approved 27 lot residential subdivision.  

As a part of the approval process, the proposal was referred by Council to the Kempsey Local Aboriginal Lands Council for a Heritage Assessment Report. One of the conditions of consent was that “an Aboriginal Field Officer from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service or the Kempsey Local Aboriginal Land Council must be present during all earthworks.”

This is the first development site within the Shire to proceed under the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s Biodiversity Offset Scheme, under which developers who undertake clearing generate an obligation to offset their activity through a like-for-like planting of similar vegetation in the same local area, or make a payment through the state government’s Biodiversity Conservation Trust.  

The developer complied with all Council and state government requirements in place to protect the natural environment.

The developer made lengthy efforts to fulfil their biodiversity offset obligations and have followed all the right steps.

Despite the efforts of the developer over the past year to source a local site, and then a regional site to fund a like-for-like biodiversity stewardship to offset their development, none were available.

As such, in September 2020 the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust confirmed to Council that the developer had paid their full conditioned offset obligation of $721,201.50 into the State’s Biodiversity Conservation Fund.

This fund was created by the NSW government to enable developers to proceed with the development while allowing the Trust to bundle credit obligations and secure strategic offset outcomes.

The Biodiversity Offsets Scheme is a NSW government framework, established by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, designed to avoid, minimise and offset impacts on biodiversity from development and clearing, and to ensure land that is used to offset impacts is secured in-perpetuity.

It is designed to see developers either fund nearby landholders to establish a site where they will grow like-for-like vegetation to offset the impact of the clearing or to pay the state government’s Biodiversity Conservation Trust which delivers private land conservation programs.

Read more about the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme.