Residents plan to fight off new Peregian zoning bid

ANOTHER attempt to switch the zoning of sport and recreation land to residential development at Peregian Springs faces an angry backlash from residents.

The community protest at Peregian Springs against plans to change the zoning of golf course land to residential attracted more than 400 people. . Picture: John McCutcheon

ANGRY Peregian Springs residents are planning to fight another rezoning attempt to shift 'sport and recreation' land to residential development.

The 1664 sq m land parcel at the northern end of Balgownie Drive was subject to a February realignment of boundary approval which shifted it from Lot 503 (golf course) to Lot 508 (residential), a change which did not alter its zoning under the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme.

An application to rezone the land was made in August with public notification given on September 21.

Peregian Springs Residents Association fears approval of the application would set a precedent which may compromise the future of the golf course which remains closed despite Aveo assurances it would re-open in the near future.

The latest showdown follows Aveo subsidiary FKP Residential Developments' withdrawal in August of an application to rezone another 1.1 ha parcel of Peregian Springs Golf Club from sport and recreation to residential.

The application was the subject of an intense community campaign at a time the golf club was being put into liquidation.

Sunshine Coast Council planning officers recommended that application be refused ahead of the August 18 ordinary meeting.

In a statement Aveo told an August public meeting which attracted at least 400 people that "there is no current or future plan to replace the withdrawn development applications and there are no plans to lodge any more rezoning or development applications for the golf course land".

The latest application arguably is not compromised by that statement given that at the time the land parcel now subject to rezoning had been shifted out of golf course land by way of the February boundary realignment.

However Peregian Springs Residents Association secretary Greg Smith said the community now faced the same circumstances it did with Aveo's unsuccessful bid to rezone land in Lakeside Drive and Greenside Court.

He said rezoning the new land parcel would have the same precedent implications.

Residents have been urged to make submissions to the council by October 14 opposing the rezoning given the inconsistency with the 2014 planning scheme, the potential precedent it would set and the lack of community benefit to be derived from such a switch.

Mr Smith said the development of houses on sport and recreation zoned land was an unreasonable imposition on residents who "have chosen to live or invest in the area with the reasonable expectation that the golf course will remain in place given it is protected by a Sport and Recreation zoning".

"Similarly members of the golfing community have expectations that their sporting facilities will not be eroded by the creep of residential development onto golf course land,'' submissions to the council will argue.

Mr Smith said the same circumstances applied to the application as existed in relation to the previous bid which was recommended for refusal by council officers before being withdrawn.

Questions about the application have been put to FKP Residential Developments through Aveo.