Bayview’s boulevard of biting midges back on drawing board
The NT government has been asked to restore a long-scrapped development plan for a Darwin suburb. Will they agree?
A new online campaign and petition will try to persuade the NT Government to resurrect the original Bayview development masterplan.
In 2016 the former Michael Gunner-led Labor government amended the original Bayview masterplan to scrap the stage-three, $800m Bayview Boulevard development.
The NT Development Consent Authority recently approved an 18-lot subdivision on O’Ferrals Rd at Bayview critics said was smaller than the 1175 additional residencies under the original plan and would disrupt traffic flow in its current form.
The petition calls for government to scrap the revised O’Ferrals Rd subdivision because it would prevent Bayview Boulevarde’s development, and also condemn residents to only the Tiger Brennan Drive entrance and exit.
Traffic lights on the corner of Benison Rd and Tiger Brennan Drive were installed a number of years ago to facilitate access out of Bayview, and the proposed 18-lot development would sink that change.
Darwin Lord Mayor Peter Styles and Urban Development Institute’s Drew Wagner have backed the Bayview Boulevarde plan, and an online petition has been launched to raise awareness about the proposed change.
Bayview resident Shona Mowatt also supported replacing the 18-lot development with Bayview Boulevarde, saying she would support anything that reduced mangrove numbers and biting midges.
“The midges are just too bad, I don’t go outside any more because they breed in the mangroves,” Ms Mowatt said.
“My daughter was visiting from Perth in June and she still has the scars from the midges.”
The petition quotes from the original masterplan which promised “a beautiful boulevard linking our neighbourhoods; public spaces that bring people together and a lively activated waterfront reflecting the best of Darwin living”.
It said the proposed subdivision would mean less housing, lost community spaces and the loss of waterfront activation.
“Once constructed, this decision can’t be undone and Bayview’s story will end unfinished,” the petition said.
“It is crucial for the NT Government to reconsider this decision and approve the original plan for the Bayview Boulevarde Development.
“By doing so, we ensure Bayview can flourish and reach its full potential. We must not allow our neighbourhood’s future to be compromised.”
Bayview was first commissioned as Bayview Haven late last century and was known as Baygon Haven because of the requirement for insect repellent to live there.
Despite mangroves being linked to large numbers of biting midges in Bayview, the Labor opposition campaigned during the 2016 election to retain mangroves at the site by scrapping the Bayview Boulevarde project.
Labor candidate and Bayview resident Jeff Collins led the charge, but fell out with his own government and left Bayview and the NT after losing office in 2020.
After legal back-and-forth, the incoming Labor government and developer Dover Investments Pty Ltd came to an arrangement to change the plan.
Lord Mayor Mr Styles called for the NT Government to reinstate the original plan.
“When government changed in 2016 Labor didn’t want to go ahead with Bayview Boulevarde, but the CLP in government saw it as a viable project,” he said.
“It was well planned and ready to go, and it’s still ready to go, and it would give us access to more accommodation in the Darwin municipality.”
Mr Wagner also called for the original plan’s reactivation.
“Any opportunity we have to meet further market demand should be looked at, and as far as UDI is concerned, this is a natural progression for development in that area,” he said.
“The reactivation of the Benison Road entrance and availaibity of those blocks should be bought to market for the market to decide if it wants them developed.”
Lands and Planning Minister Josh Burgoyne has been contacted for comment.
Originally published as Bayview’s boulevard of biting midges back on drawing board
