Council says it cannot refuse to accept application for development on North Lakes Golf Course

Moreton Bay Council has rejected the claim by a community group that it can legally not accept an application to develop North Lakes Golf Course into a retirement village.

MORETON BAY Regional Council has rejected the claim by a community group that it can legally not accept an application to develop North Lakes Golf Course into a retirement village.

Developers The Village Retirement Group (TVRG), according to their website, are expected within the next couple of weeks to lodge an application with the council for a retirement village and aged care facility on the golf course site.

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However, under the Mango Hill Infrastructure Development Control Plan (MHIDCP), which regulates development in North Lakes, a retirement village is a prohibited use for that land.

Save North Lakes Golf Course member Phillip Carlson, during a presentation to councillors on November 7, said the council had a legal right to not accept an application for a prohibited development.

More than 100 people turned out at a peaceful protest on Sunday, November 25 against the sale of North Lakes Golf Course to a developer.

Mr Carlson partially based this on a recent Queensland Court of Appeal decision on October 12 that upheld Ipswich City Council’s decision to not accept an application by developer Cherish because it did not comply with the local structure plan.

However, a Moreton Bay Regional Council spokesman said its legal advice suggested this was not the case.

“Council is aware of the community sentiment around this matter and is sympathetic to the uncertainty it may be creating for some residents,” he said.

He said the council’s legal team had considered the Court of Appeal decision.

“Contrary to the view mentioned by some residents, it is not believed the decision has created a precedent that the council can simply not accept or assess a development application for a use which is prescribed as prohibited development under the MHIDCP,” he said.

“Importantly, to simply apply the Cherish decision in the way some residents suggest is to fundamentally disregard the fact that there are important differences between the Springfield Structure Plan and the MHIDCP, which are not insignificant.”

Guests at the Save North Lakes Golf Course public meeting on Sunday, August 5. Picture: Matt Williamson

Save North Lakes Golf Course president Andrew Cathcart said he understood if the council could not refuse to accept a development application for the golf course.

“We believe the North Lakes common and retirement village are both inconsistent with the MHIDCP and other planning instruments that sit over the golf course,” he said.

“Our legal advice is they can lodge, but saying they can build sporting fields and the like on that land is just erroneous,” he said.

“I don’t understand how they can say they are putting all these uses for the town common and that they’ll get approved. It doesn’t make any sense.

“We’re in a very strong position and they can lodge all they want, but we’re coming to get them.”

Andrew Cathcart addresses about 200 people at a peaceful protest at North Lakes Resort Golf Club on July 28. Residents are concerned over the proposed sale of the course. Picture: David Alexander

The council did not respond to questions about whether it would meet with Mr Carlson to discuss the Court of Appeal decision, as Mr Carlson requested during his presentation on December 7.

It also did not respond to questions about whether it had met with TVRG to discuss the development, nor how many times it had met with TVRG.

The council spokesman meanwhile said councillors had a responsibility to “act consistently with local government principles”.

“This includes the responsibility to represent and serve the overall public interest of the entire Moreton Bay Region and exhibit behaviour that is both ethical and legal,” he said.

“The Council is not able to provide any further comments in relation to whether it would accept the application as being properly made, let alone whether it would assess and decide the application.”

Mr Cathcart said the group has been very happy with the council’s, in particular Cr Mick Gillam’s, “open door” approach and he looked forward to continuing the relationship.

The group today held a fundraising golf event which was attended by Labor MP for Bancroft Chris Whiting and Labor candidate for Petrie Corrine Mulholland.

Course owner Adam Simpson said the golf course would close at the end of next year.

It is understood that there have been offers from other golf course operators to buy North Lakes Golf Course, but these have all been rejected.