LETTERS: Mayor's comments cause dismay

MAYOR Jack Dempsey's enthusiastic comments in Wednesday's NewsMail RE: the now-approved nine-storey Jewel development leaves us in dismay.

AERIAL VIEW: Letter writer Pam Soper is asking why a motion was not made at the previous council meeting to approve the Jewel development at nine storeys at Bargara. Picture: mike knott

Cart before horse

MAYOR Jack Dempsey's enthusiastic comments in Wednesday's NewsMail RE: the now-approved nine-storey Jewel development leaves us in dismay.

In one instance he says how this development will show all Australia that we don't sit on our hands and knees and expect the world to come to us. This development sends a light of confidence for development right across the region that Bundaberg is a positive place to live, work, play and invest.

The following paragraph he goes on to say in the last couple of years we've gone from negative growth to positive for the first time in many years with over $350 million of approvals.

So, growth is well on the way anyway aided by the 2016 council initiative of infrastructure fees and charges incentives.

Knocking back a development that greatly conflicts with our planning rules shows common sense.

It's a long stretch to say we are sending a message Bundaberg does not welcome new business.

Speaking of sitting on hands, that is exactly what Cr Dempsey and the councillors involved and the CEO have done.

All abrogated your responsibility to make some decision.

It should not have gone to the CEO anyway. We did not elect him to run our city.

Cr Dempsey talks about how disappointing it is that people have played politicisation and mis-truths over many months not in the best interests of the community.

We have to ask, have the mayor and the councillors not been reading the daily papers?

It's full of concerned residents (just the tip of the iceberg) asking what the devil is going and voicing concerns that our councillors are ignoring their own planning department that recommend this project not go ahead above 20m.

Cr Dempsey and the councillors concerned have fuelled the fires by their actions in handling this whole application.

The meeting on Monday, September 24, further raised questions and residents want answers.

Credit to councillors Bartels, Honor, Peters and Learmonth for at least voting to approve a 20m height restriction and Cr Barnes for trying to uphold the planning acts.

The mayor also says, this approval didn't mean all future applications would automatically attract the same outcome.

Why not?

The council could be perceived having set a benchmark and future applications denied could potentially end up in the courts.

Further, Cr Demspey is so concerned about the turtle population and protecting our great tourist drawcard that only now is seeking advice from other authorities to commission a lighting audit along our coastline to guide future decision making.

Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?

This audit should have been done before any more high-rise developments on the foreshores were granted.

So, if a lighting audit takes some time for some authority to propose, what recommendations do you intend to come up with in the next few days to impose on the Jewel development?

Council is nowhere ready to allow this to go ahead, all things considered all too hasty.

This development is progress - you gotta be kidding. Frustrated and disappointed in the mayor and councillors involved - you bet.

A AND B COCHRANE

Thabeban

Process questioned

APPROVAL of the nine-storey development at Bargara, "is a turning point in taking Bundaberg forward to a bright economic future”, according to Mayor Jack Dempsey (NM 5/06/18).

If this is the case then why did neither the Mayor nor Cr Sommerfeld put up a motion for approval of nine storeys after the motion by Cr Bartels to accept the recommendation of the expert town planners for a maximum of five storeys was defeated?

The mayor and councillors Blackburn, Sommerfeld and Cooper would have known that by avoiding a vote on the application, the developer would be able to claim a deemed approval, which also gives him the upper hand when conditions are being considered.

To suggest the decision would be left up to the CEO is nonsense as it is the mayor's job to direct the CEO.

Clearly in this case the advice was "do nothing”.

If, as Cr Dempsey claims, this development is a turning point with another $300million approved developments in the pipeline, where is the evidenced based data to back up the claims of extra jobs during and after construction.

How many of these developments are in progress, and how many millions of dollars has council foregone in developer infrastructure costs which then have to be paid by the ratepayers of the region?

PAM SOPER

Bargara