Plans with Coffs Harbour City Council for 148-lot residential subdivision at Sandy Beach

Plans have been lodged for a major residential subdivision just north of Coffs Harbour against a backdrop of a chronic housing shortage in the region. Here’s the latest.

The Sandy Beach subdivision would sit between the M1 Motorway and the Pacific Ocean. Picture: Google Maps / RP Data

A complex development application has been lodged with City of Coffs Harbour for a major residential land subdivision at Sandy Beach.

Elite Construction proposes amalgamating three allotments and subdividing into 148 lots.

Under the proposal, the applicant would retain the largest allotment, while the remainder would take shape in two stages.

The ‘West’ site would be first and comprise 71 lots ranging in size from 400 to 993 square metres. ‘East’ would be 77 lots ranging from 401 to 2235sqm.

Site layout of the proposed residential land subdivision at Sandy Beach.

The site is bordered by the Pacific Highway, the ocean, existing housing to the south and Hearns Lake and Double Crossing Creek to the north.

The majority of the site is vacant and has been grazed by cattle.

The area is zoned low density residential or environmental conservation.

Under the proposal, one metre of fill would be required across the majority of the residential subdivision areas.

Pine Cr, Sandy Beach, after an East Coast Low dumped 100mm in 2016.

In a statement of environmental effects lodged with council, Mersonn Pty Ltd states the developer intends a broad scale of works to address concerns like flooding.

“(The proposal) is intended as an attempt to explore a development solution for the site more responsive to the stakeholders, namely Coffs Harbour City Council, the Sandy Beach community and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services,” it reads.

“It remains the applicant’s intention to resolve the local flooding issues on the site and for the surrounding residential properties, to subdivide only the land zoned Residential R2 Low Density Residential, and to dedicate all of the land zoned E2 Environmental Conservation to Coffs Harbour City Council and/or National Parks and Wildlife as part of the Regional Park.”

Elite Construction was made aware of flooding challenges in the area during talks with neighbouring residents and the council.

Parts of Sandy Beach were inundated in February 2012.

“It came to the attention of the applicant that the properties adjoining the site experienced local flooding that could be resolved by undertaking engineering works,” the planning documents state.

“The applicant proposes to construct additional infrastructure in the form of roads, drainage channel realignment, bioretention swales and bushfire protection to address the local flooding and water quality issues.”

The expected cost of the proposed subdivision works is more than $14 million.

All of the proposed lots would have and street frontage and access to town water and sewage systems.

“The project scale and size is small in comparison to the area to be retained for conservation, and the project is confined primarily to the areas of the study area that are most degraded and will least impact on the coastline and Hearnes Lake estuary,” Mersonn states.

“The project will improve public access to the beach through construction of access roads to areas of the beach which are currently inaccessible to the public.”