New $13m townhouse complex with 16 properties proposed for 30 Golding St, Yamba

Developers have pitched a $13m housing complex for a hotly contested patch of flood-prone land in booming North Coast town Yamba. Here’s how the developer plans to protect against flooding.

30 Golding St Yamba proposed townhouse development lodged with Clarence Valley Council in February 2024

Developers have pitched a $13 million townhouse complex for a hotly contested patch of land intended to unlock more housing in the booming North Coast town of Yamba.

Developer Potter SDA has put forward a proposal for 16 new townhouses and a two lot subdivision at 30 Golding St, Yamba.

Artist sketch of what the proposed development could look like.

The 16 townhouses will be built on site that is “subject to flood inundation”, according to planning documents.

“(The) dwellings have been designed to minimise the impacts of flood by partially filling the site and also designing the ground floor (parking level) of each dwelling to structurally withstand flood inundation in the event of a major flood event,” plans state.

The proposed development site (outlined in red).

The proposed development is located within the West Yamba Urban Renewal Area (WYURA) – a patch of land flagged as a development site for many years now.

The development has long been a bone of contention for some Yamba residents because of the constant truck movements (around one every 10 minutes) and large amount of fill needed, which could end up redirecting water to other parts of town.

Last year, Clarence Valley Council rejected a rezoning proposal for the WYURA which would have seen the area be classified as conservation rather than residential land.

“The floods of early 2022 have brought this issue to a head as the number of residences in the WYURA will mean that the population of Yamba will increase by 2000 people,” council documents stated.

“In the event of a major flood this will place extreme pressure on the SES (State Emergency Service) to protect and potentially evacuate these residents.”

Artist impression of what one of the townhouses could look like.

The recent proposal also comes at a time of housing pressures across the North Coast.

The population of towns such as Yamba is growing considerably and this growth is coupled with a shortage in housing availability.

Some of the most prominent proposals pitched for the WYURA include a $79 million plan to build hundreds of new homes at 120 Carrs Dr and a $53 million pitch to build 277 homes at 52-54 Miles St, Yamba.

Residents have until March 25 to lodge submissions about the recent townhouse proposal on the Clarence Valley Council website.