‘Not in public interest’: Quick decision on $1.5M proposal

THE council had received 121 submissions, all of them opposing the development application.

Plans for a multi-dwelling development proposed for 16 Short St, Brunswick Heads will go before the council.

A DEVELOPMENT application for a four-home revamp of a Brunswick Heads property has been refused without debate.

The proposal for 16 Short St went before Byron Shire Council's planning meeting on Thursday, but was not even reserved for debate.

Councillors instead automatically adopted the staff recommendation to refuse the proposal.

The proposed $1.58 million worth of works proposed would have comprised demolition of an existing home, built in 1971, and construction of four new homes and four pools.

Each of the homes proposed would have contained three bedrooms.

The council's staff gave 12 reasons why the DA should be refused.

During public access, George Stinson urged councillors to refuse the development.

"This DA has received 121 written submissions against and none for (this proposal)," Mr Stinson said.

Mr Stinson said required walkways to each dwelling had been "sort of added to the amended plans", but in such a way that they were interrupted by clothes lines, gas bottle storage, airconditioning units and water tanks.

He said there had been "significant community opposition" and the matter was "not in the public interest".

As the matter was not called up for debate, the recommendation to refuse the DA was adopted.

A two-dwelling, two-pool proposal for the same site was refused for the same site on March 19 this year.

The four-home DA was lodged 12 days later.

It was placed on public exhibition twice, the second time with a revised set of plans.

The staff report, written by the council's sustainable environment manager Chris Larkin, said all of the 121 submissions received were "substantially opposed" to the development.

The submissions raised a host of issues including "traffic and parking inadequacies", noise, overshadowing, "deficient deep soil zones" and "inadequate landscaping".

Stormwater issues, waste management and other issues were also raised.

He acknowledged the community's frustration, given the past refusal at the site, but said it was important for the council to consider whether its current planning controls "make it abundantly clear what sort of residential development is expected in the R2 Low Density Residential zone in Brunswick Heads".

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