Property developer GemLife’s $74 million Ballina housing project met with criticism

A proposal to build homes on a flood-plain in West Ballina has been met with criticism as politicians condemn the move following the 2022 floods. Find out what the new plans are.

GemLife has proposed a $74 million project that would see 148 units for a Seniors Housing community on the Burns Point Ferry Road site in West Ballina.

A fresh bid to build 148 luxury homes on a flood-plain in West Ballina has been met with fierce opposition against the development.

The $74 million project would mean the construction of a seniors housing community on the Burns Point Ferry Rd site.

The proposal has been hotly contested as the site is located on a flood-plain and is home to habitat for endangered species.

In 2022, when Ballina flooded, residents living adjacent to the site were evacuated from their homes leaving politicians questioning the merit of building on the site.

Gemlike has proposed a $74 million project for 148 new homes, but the project has been met with major opposition.

“The GemLife development proposal 2.0 is just as problematic as the first one,” Ballina MP, Tamara Smith said.

“On what planet does it make sense to approve the building of hundreds of residential dwellings on a flood-plain and on a site that had three metres of water across it last year?” Ms Smith said.

The property developer, GemLife, is forging ahead saying the site is an ideal location for “much needed affordable housing” for seniors and their proposal wouldn’t impact the environment.

GemLife maintains the development is compliant with Ballina council’s flood modelling – stating the homes would be raised by infill above expected flood levels.

“Flood impacts from tidal flooding and excessive rainfall have been carefully considered in the design and location of the development to ensure that surrounding properties do not result in any additional flood impacts from this development,” a GemLife spokesman said.

A rendering of the proposed seniors community on the Burns Point Ferry Road site in West Ballina.

The development would also include a “clubhouse” above the probable maximum flood level “to provide a flood refuge”, with a helipad on the roof to facilitate evacuations.

Council unanimously voted at the October 2022 meeting to defer the decision and pass it on to a planning panel for determination.

Now, Ballina councillor Kiri Dicker is fighting to zone the entire site for conservation, putting an end to all development on the site.

“The reasons for refusing this development were so extensive and so compelling that it is impossible to do anything other than to protect this site from development in perpetuity,” she said.

GemLife has proposed a $74 million project that would see 148 units for a Seniors Housing community on them Burns Point Ferry Road site in West Ballina.

The move to block development on the site through conservation zoning was deferred at the June meeting.

The original multimillion-dollar development application to build 300 units – then cut back to 230 – was shot down by the courts in November 2021.

The Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court Brian Preston, in refusing the application based on expert evidence, found the whole site contains ecologically endangered communities.

However, the LEC did not find flooding to be an issue for the site in refusing the development, a GemLife spokesman said.

Councillors Stephen McCarthy and Jeff Johnson will be the council’s representatives on the planning panel, along with three other State Government appointments.

Home in Burns Point Ferry Road at West Ballina.

Ballina Shire Mayor Sharon Cadwallader said the developer need to address “several key concerns”.

“There has been many public submissions raising concerns with the application that will need to be examined,” she said.

“Particularly the environmental values, flood impacts and stormwater.

“I am extremely interested in seeing what the final assessment report recommends to the Planning Panel and the reasons for that recommendation.

“It will still be several months before that assessment is finalised.”