Ballina Sandbar, Shaws Bay Cafe site up for demolition

A scenic setting that has been popular with diners over the years is set to be bulldozed and replaced with a home the owner says will improve on the beauty of the area.

An application has been made to demolish the former site of the Sandbar Restaurant in Compton Drive in Ballina. Picture: Liana Boss

A once-grand Shaws Bay restaurant site turned eyesore could be slated for demolition.

A development application for the demolition of 23 Compton Drive in East Ballina has been lodged with Ballina Shire Council.

According to the application, the demolition would clear the way for the former Sandbar Restaurant and Shaws Bay cafe spot to become a new home for landowner Kelvin Daly.

The application says the “old dilapidated” site demolition will include the removal and disposal of asbestos sheeting from internal and external areas.

Mr Daly said, as a Northern Rivers resident for many years, he wanted to reassure the community the home would “improve on the beauty that already exists in Shaws Bay”.

“I’m hoping to build a beautiful dwelling there for my family and it will certainly be a lot more visually appealing than what is there at the moment,” he said.

He said council guidelines regulated the height and size of the development.

The demolition is expected to cost $27,000.

The site, which boasts magnificent Shaws Bay views, became the subject of public debate in 2016 when the council decided the Coogee St stairs would remain in public ownership and accessible to the community.

The steps, in front of the waterfront site, run up the hill.

The council further resolved last year to change the zoning of that land from environmental protection to low density residential zone.

The council’s director of planning and environmental health, Matt Wood, said the decision to keep the Coogee St stairs was to make sure the area remained accessible.

“Council’s decision was to rezone the land, but there was also a separate decision of council to ensure that the steps and that accessway the community uses are to remain in public ownership,” he said.

The council further resolved last year to change the zoning of that land from environmental protection to low density residential zone.

Mr Daly said he recognised the stairs’ “importance” to the community and reiterated they would stay.

“I hear that sentiment and concern but I only have the best interests for the site,” he said.

“It never had any parking so it was never going to be a commercially viable story.

“We’ve asked good people to give us advice and consult.”

The property was sold in May this year for $600,000.

Council-owned land adjacent to the property, not including the stairs, was sold also at the same time for an undisclosed sum.

Originally erected in the 1960s, the hospitality spot was damaged by a kitchen fire in the 2000s and previous real estate advertisements listed the property as an “opportunity to renovate”.

The development application is on public exhibition until October 22.