Lake Macquarie council's plans for a mixed-use development on Tornoto foreshore have taken a new twist, with staff now pushing for the project to be considered in the context of a wider foreshore redevelopment.
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A recommendation will be presented to councillors at Monday night's ordinary meeting to prepare a planning proposal for the project with a "precinct approach".
The staff report prepared for the meeting says the planning proposal, which would be submitted to the Department of Planning, is required because variation and amendment of local planning controls for the development is considered "not appropriate".
Council's development assessment team and SEPP 65 panel have advised that a review of LEP planning controls, via the planning proposal, is "more appropriate" as feedback from the Department of Planning indicated it was "not likely to support a proposal to amend LEP 2014 controls only for council's land" for the development.
Toronto Foreshore Protection Group spokesperson Suzanne Pritchard said council was "shifting the goal posts and changing its own planning rules to get a favourable commercial outcome".
She said it "sets a poor precedent for planning, governance and trust".
"It goes against all planning logic that council did not allow options for the Bath Street site to be included in the foreshore master planning process," she said.
"Instead council hired consultants to develop the foreshore masterplan and develop a design for the six-storey tower as two parallel contracts.
"Now it's developing a new precinct proposal that includes the high-rise to demonstrate that it is considering the 'strategic context'."
Consultation about the master plan being prepared for the redevelopment of the adjoining public foreshore land has progressed, and staff have recommended councillors now "consider the fosreshore master plan and mixed-use development proposal together and in the context of the wider area".
"Clearer visual communication about the interface between the proposed mixed-use development and the foreshore master plan has been identified as important to the community," the report says.
Council staff have proposed sharing design concepts of the proposed development to "aid in correcting any misconceptions around the wider project".
Sources suggest a briefing held about the project between council staff and councillors last week became "quite heated". It is understood some councillors have lost faith in staff managing the project and a proposal for a public-private partnership for the mixed-use development might now be considered.
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