Erina: Decision made on $43 million, 131-unit apartment complex on Karalta Rd

A decision has been made on an ambitious $43 million project to demolish two old semirural homes on Karalta Rd and convert them into a major residential unit complex.

The Hunter Central Coast Regional Planning Panel has reached a determination on plans to build a major residential development across the road from Erina Fair.

The owner of the site at 89-91 Karalta Rd, Pinnacle Karalta Development, lodged a development application (DA) in November 2020 to demolish the existing two homes and build four buildings ranging in height from three-four storeys to house 131 units, private terraces, common landscaped areas and up to two levels of basement parking.

An artist’s impression of the apartment building complex. Image: supplied

Under the plans the unit complex would have included up to 10 affordable housing apartments and basement parking for 226 cars.

The site was subject to an earlier DA which was approved in 2016 to subdivide five lots across the two parcels of land into six, with a new access road through the middle of the development.

The new DA sought a maximum height of 15.79m, which was 43.5 per cent more than the allowed height of 11m under the existing planning controls.

The site also bordered onto Kincumba Mountain Regional Reserve and would result in the removal of 140 mature, mostly native trees, which result in a loss of habitat or wildlife corridor.

An artist’s impression showing the building heights and proposed basement parking. Image: supplied

The Hunter Central Coast Regional Planning Panel found while the site was well located for a residential flat building and affordable housing, the “proposed development has not appropriately considered the site context and constraints, nor responded to the landscape character of the area sufficiently”.

“The bulk, scale and siting of the proposal is not supported,” the panel stated in its determination to refuse the DA.

“There is no justification to vary (apartment design guide) requirements on what is essentially a greenfield site. The traffic impacts arising from this development have not been adequately addressed. The application lacks detailed information on a range of matters to allow for a proper assessment.”

While the DA has been refused the applicants still own the land and have until next year to lodge new plans before the previous DA — to subdivide the lots and construct the access road — lapses in August 2023.

An artist’s impression of the proposed development. Image: supplied