Broulee NIMBYS fight against proposed Azure Ave apartments

A south coast village seemingly full of NIMBYS are raging against plans for an apartment complex, just months after fighting a similar plan. Here’s the latest.

Artist impression of the proposed units.

Fresh after fighting apartment plans, Broulee residents – a south coast village seemingly littered with NIMBYS – have a new fight on their hands in the form of another apartment proposal.

This time, the proposed apartment complex – the third major proposal for Broulee in two years – is pinned for a growing section of the coastal village 21km south of Batemans Bay at 22 Azure Ave.

“I don’t think developers are understanding that we don’t want this shit here,” Broulee resident and self described NIMBY Shannon Bartley said.

“Wasn’t it just a few months ago that we fought against that other proposal at Smith St?”

The new $2.8m proposal – submitted by Candor Town Planning – would see five multistorey units constructed on the vacant site, each featuring multiple bedrooms, living rooms, studies, kitchens and more.

The units are proposed for 22 Azure Ave, Broulee.

But the proposal, like many others in Broulee, has not gone over well with some NIMBYS saying it doesn’t fit the small town.

“We need housing, we get that, but this isn’t the place to do it,” resident Steven Plenter said.

Artist impression of the proposed units.

“Batemans Bay is the hub of the Eurobodalla. It’s the biggest town in the area and is the closest coastal town to Canberra.

“Put these developments there and leave our villages alone.”

The proposed apartment comes as part of the Eurobodalla Local Housing Strategy, which encourages greater housing diversity and affordability over the next 20 years.

It notes by 2036, Eurobodalla will need an additional 3949 dwellings to accommodate population growth.

Smith Street resident Adrian Beresford-Wylie said he was completely against the proposed development.

Eurobodalla Council is also working on a Batemans Bay CBD masterplan, with housing and apartments being an essential element.

In February last year, a proposal for a residential block featuring nine units was set for 92 Smith St, Broulee.

Similarly to the new plan, the development did not go over well with residents.

“As soon as you build something like this, it opens the gates for more developers to come in and completely change the Broulee landscape,” Smith Street resident Adrian Beresford-Wylie said.

“I’m completely against it, this is a small town and as soon as you build an eyesore like that, it will ruin the area.”

Young Broulee mother, Meg Edenborough said she was against the proposed development.

Young Broulee mother, Meg Edenborough, said high rises should be kept in Batemans Bay.

“It will be the biggest building in Broulee if it’s built,” she said.

“If it goes up, what’s stopping the buildings on the beach edge from being able to grow from two storeys high to five?”

Developers Planned – Towning Solutions altered the plans addressing residents’ concerns, with the altered designs now sitting with council.

Broulee NIMBYS also fought against a proposal to demolish a large portion of forest to subdivide into a colossal housing development.

The development would result in bushland being removed around Captain Oldrey Park and along Heath and Train St, Broulee, to make way for 38 new homes.

Broulee resident and self-described environmentalist Maria Sinclair said the development mustn’t go ahead.

“I am not against housing. There is obviously a need for more housing, not just in Broulee or Batemans Bay or any surrounds, but the entire Eurobodalla,” she said.

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Originally published as Broulee NIMBYS fight against proposed Azure Ave apartments