Clarence council looking at DA for 52-54 Miles St, Yamba project in controversial West Yamba Urban Release Area (WYURA)
A contentious $53 million project on a Clarence flood plain could pave the way for hundreds of new homes badly needed in the booming coastal town of Yamba. Here’s what’s happening.
Regional News
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The fate of a massive $53.6 million development proposal for a burgeoning North Coast town will soon be revealed, but the project faces widespread community discontent.
Flooding concerns surround the site of the project at 52-54 Miles St, Yamba - in the West Yamba Urban Release Area (WYURA) - as a Clarence real estate agent has spoken of the shortage of housing in the area.
The Kahuna No. 1 project put forward by Garrard Building subdivision is pitched to include 284 lots and almost 300 homes, and go a long way to addressing the lack of housing.
Clarence Valley Council has been considering plans for the 42 hectare site located in the WYURA, south of Yamba Rd and approximately four kilometres from the town centre.
The pending decision on the development is set to come after the council rejected a rezoning proposal for the WYURA, a flood plain area, at an April meeting.
Building on the WYURA has long been a bone of contention for some Yamba residents because of constant truck movements – about one every 10 minutes – and large amount of fill which has been needed, as well as the general flood-prone location.
“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 have stated.
Ray White Yamba managing director Daniel Kelly said the coastal town always has ebbs and flows in housing availability, but was suffering a shortage – like much of the North Coast.
“Over the last couple of years there has been an increased turnover and right now we are also seeing a shortage in sale availability,” he said.
He said the town was also booming.
“(Yamba is also) growing in popularity very considerably,” Mr Kelly said.
Mr Kelly acknowledged the differing views about developing the WYURA, but he said the area has been flagged as a development site for years.
One of the central concerns is the amount of fill needed to build on the flood plains.
Some residents worry altering the plains will end up redirecting water to other areas.
Yamba resident Kim Burgess has spoken about her anger over the proposal in the wake of the 2022 floods.
She said she was approved for a grant to either raise or retrofit her home as part of the NSW Resilient Homes program.
Ms Burgess said it shows the NSW government is aware of flooding dangers in the area.
She sold her property on Endeavour St after 23 years “because I just couldn’t go through another flood, plus I was sick of the dust and the noise from the tonnes and tonnes of fill being trucked in”.
“We were flooded four times in those 23 years, but 2022 was by far the worst. The water in the street was hip-high,” Ms Burgess said.
“I was sick of writing to council year after year providing photos of water flooding the street – their response was to approve more fill.
“Simply put, it’s just not fair.”
If approved, the new development is set to provide 277 low-density homes, a commercial development and an open space area.
The council will consider the application in accordance with the usual relevant planning legislation, a spokesman said.
“Council staff are committed to an extremely thorough assessment of flooding impacts for all development applications in West Yamba Urban Release Area and are rigorously applying the assessment criteria in our Local Environmental Plan, Development Control Plan and state flood policy,” he said.
Have your say on the Kahuna No. 1 project until December 18.
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Originally published as Clarence council looking at DA for 52-54 Miles St, Yamba project in controversial West Yamba Urban Release Area (WYURA)
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