Bayview golf club retirement village plan rejected by Sydney North Planning Panel
There has been a surprising twist in the saga of the Bayview Golf Club’s bid to build an $84m 85-unit retirement village, as fears that 1250 job opportunities may have been lost.
Manly
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Plans to build an $84m retirement village on Bayview golf course, which would have created more than 1250 new jobs on the northern beaches, have been scuppered in a surprise move by a planning panel.
It’s a huge win for residents and environmental campaigners who had started a petition against the development.
However, the developers Waterbrook which put forward the proposal for 85 units with its partner Bayview Golf Club, said it was perplexed by the panel’s decision.
Marten Touw, president of the golf club, added that the decision was “odd” and “frustrating”.
The application was for a site compatibility certificate (SCC) which had been awarded previously in 2017 but expired.
It was assumed getting re-approval for the certificate – which was for a smaller development than the previously application – would be straightforward.
The applicants need a SCC before the DA can then be considered for approval.
“I can’t see what has changed between 2017 and 2020 when the first SCC was approved,” he said.
“We haven’t even had a chance to discuss the merits of the development.”
He said the project would have created more than 1250 jobs for the peninsula and provided senior living accommodation of which there is a great shortage.
However, last week the Sydney North Planning Panel rejected the application for an SCC saying that while the site could be suitable for more intensive development, it felt this proposal was not suitable.
The panel found the current form of the proposal “would result in the removal of a significant quantity of trees which are also important wildlife habitat” and “would dominate the landscape and be out of character with the local area”.
It said the application was refused to protect a portion of the site which is a “coastal wetland”.
It said the proposal “has significant environmental implications for existing flora and fauna (including threatened and endangered species) and the wildlife corridor of which it is part”.
It also found that the “extent of the excavation, height, bulk and footprint of the built form is out of character with the surrounding urban development and local character of Mona Vale”.
The club has said previously that the development was needed to keep it financially viable for the next 20 years.
The proposal included seniors’ housing comprising seven buildings of three-storeys in height and a basement parking for 161 cars.
A new road and roundabout would also have to be created to join the development to Cabbage Tree Rd, Bayview.
A spokesman for Waterbrook said it will be meeting with the golf club to discuss future options.
Waterbrook Managing Director Kevin Ryan said: “We are obviously extremely disappointed, particularly for the club and its members, who strongly supported the project, as it underpinned the financial viability of their club and enabled it to be held as a vital community resource for future generations.
“At a time when golf clubs are under increasing financial pressure, our proposal allowed the club to undertake important course works, including new tees and greens, concrete paths, grey water treatment facilities and drainage works.
“We’re also perplexed, given that a SCC had previously been issued in 2017.
“Our latest proposal was for a smaller development, with a range of key modifications, including a reduction in the number of dwellings and building heights.
“We always maintained that the retirement resort could have proceeded without any detrimental impacts on the local environment, as it reconfigured only five per cent of the course to enable the balance of 95 per cent for open space – in fact, we had scientifically addressed any issues raised throughout the planning process and had demonstrated that we would have enhanced biodiversity through revegetation and rehabilitation of the existing, fragmented degraded wildlife corridors across the golf course.”
The latest proposal was modified from the original plans which were rejected by the independent Sydney North Planning Panel in August last year, on a technicality related to the SCC.