Five things coming up at the Clarence Valley council meeting in August

From giving community facilities to Maclean, and removing them from Brooms Head and more seniors development, here’s what’s coming up for decision at this week’s council committees.

With no council election, instead of entering caretaker mode Clarence Valley Council will hold its usual committee and council meetings this month.

We’ve taken a quick look through the committee papers ahead of Tuesday’s meetings and found a few things that piqued our interest.

1. Making Seniors Affordable Housing Affordable

Council will consider a request from Clarence Village Limited, who currently run aged care facilities such as Dougherty Villa, to waive fees for their proposed development of 21 seniors affordable housing development on Armidale Road, South Grafton.

The funding was initially reliant on a grant being received by Clarence Village Limited from the Better Building fund. Clarence Village was unsuccessful in receiving money in the fourth round of the grant, and will again seek money for the development in round five.

Chairman of Clarence Village Limited Geoff Shepherd in front of the land purchased by the group to build new independent living units. Photo Adam Hourigan / The Daily Examiner

They are requesting the council continue the commitment of waiving the Section 64 contributions of the development, worth $237,600.

The recommendation is to transfer money from the Clarence Care and Support Funds for the proposed DA providing the development begins within two years.

2. Higher and higher

Council will hear an application from Uniting Church to raise the height of their seniors living apartments that front Yamba Road. Development has begun on the project, which was approved on October 2019 and required a variation of the maximum building height to nine metres.

After the design has been finalised, further changes to the building height are now required, with an increase in roof pitch height by another 25-33cm.

An artist impression of what the Uniting Yamba independent living village will look like.

Council has received submissions objecting to the further raising of the height due to loss of views, loss of winter sunlight and loss of privacy, however officers are recommending the changes be allowed.

3. Maclean’s second stage underfoot

A report will be presented giving the final update on the transition of council’s Clarence Care and Support business to Wesley Mission. It also outlines recommendations for use of the money leftover from the reserve.

Maclean Civic Hall will be renovated in stage one of Maclean Community Precinct.

Last month, council deferred the transferral of the money to stage two of the Maclean Community Precinct to hear of other projects that may be beneficial. After workshops, other projects including skate parks, the Maclean Riverside Precinct and footpaths were offered.

Officers recommend spending $500,000 on the pedestrian access mobility plan, and the remaining $2.7m to stage two of the Maclean Community Precinct, prioritising the library relocation. To achieve this, the funds from the sale of their property at 2 Short Street will be included in the funding.

4. See Park gets some love

Council will present its masterplan for the upgrade of See Park. This was developed from consultation held in 2021, and includes new path connections, formalised entry points, and improved seating, furniture and amenities.

PURPLE HAZE: A sea of jacarandas in bloom at See Park, Grafton.

As a centrepiece, improved access to the water areas will be combined with feature lighting for the water fountain and body at night, potentially increasing the use of the space at night-time. There will also be climbable structures across the water area for both access and children‘s play.

5. Bye bye Brooms Head camp sites

They are prime camp sites on the reserve in the Brooms Head Holiday park that are used between December-January and kept for as long as husband and wife continued to use the sites.

With the adoption of the new plan for the Brooms Head Holiday masterplan was the resolution to remove these sites.

HOLIDAY BLISS: The lovely view from Brooms Head.

The report notes that council has not consulted with the Brooms Head Holiday and Caravanning Group who would most likely object to the removal. Campers have been notified as to make a deputation, and existing site holders would be given opportunity to book a different site when they became available.

The report also states that there have been representations from members of the local community who wished to use the reserve for recreation during the summer period, and not have it encroached by campers.