An artist’s impression of the proposed 125-dwelling retirement village. Image: GDH.
Federal Golf Club’s bid to build a retirement village on a section of the Red Hill course has suffered a surprise setback with a development application thrown out in the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Senior Members David Kerslake and Lincoln Hawkins set aside the Territory Planning Authority’s approval of the DA but will publish its reasons later.
However, it is believed the approval fell over due to administrative errors with the application and environmental issues to do with discrepancies in the counting of trees, particularly hollow bearing ones for nesting birds such as the endangered Gang Gang cockatoo.
On 18 November last year, the Planning Authority approved the proposal for 125 dwellings, including 77 single-storey houses and 48 apartments across six three-storey buildings, and a health and wellbeing centre for residents on 6 ha of the course.
The group battling the development proposal, the Friends of Federal Fairways, posted on Facebook that it welcomed the decision but that the fight was not over with a virtually identical DA for the retirement village submitted under the new Planning Act still being assessed.
FOFF argued – among planning and technical issues – that the land was not suitable for a retirement village for a number of reasons, including safety and environmental considerations, especially the destruction of trees and habitat.
The club’s development partner, Mbark, submitted two rounds of DAs for the project, under the old planning system and the new one.
FOFF said the DA still threatened nearly 800 trees that were important habitat, that a DA to deconcessionalise the subdivided land was current and that Monday’s decision may be appealed.
“While reasons have not been issued by the Tribunal yet, it seems there is recognition that there are serious environmental considerations arising from having a development in this location,” it said.
Club president Regina Neary told members in an email that the decision was disappointing but acknowledged there were environmental matters to be resolved.
Ms Neary said the administrative matters involving the application forms had the effect of the DA not being considered ‘made’ and therefore not able to be approved.
But if this had not been the case, the DA would have been sent back to the Planning Authority to clarify and further assess some environmental matters, she said.
“Mbark and the board will consider its next steps on this decision, including its rights of appeal in the ACT Supreme Court,” Ms Neary said.
“While this decision is disappointing, there remains a further application for the retirement village under assessment by the ACT Planning Authority. We will continue to update members with its progress and any actions relating to the recent Tribunal decision.”
MBark director David Consalvi said the company was disappointed but not disheartened and was prepared for other ways to make the development work.
Mr Consalvi said the Tribunal’s finding that the DA was not correctly made due to an issue with signatures on the application form is an unfortunate outcome for this application, but it could be readily be rectified for any future applications.
“Whilst we are seeking to understand the options available for this current proposal following the Tribunal decision, we continue to work on other aspects of our existing approvals to ensure we are ready on all fronts should we have an approval for the project confirmed,” he said.
“We believe that the current proposal represents the optimal balance for the village between the environmental considerations, the sustainability of the golf club, local resident interests and those of the future residents of the village.
“As designed, it will be a timely contribution to the much-needed social infrastructure of the local area. If it can’t be delivered in the form proposed, the planning controls on the site would allow us to consider other options for the village design.”
The Federal Golf Club argues that the project is vital to securing its long-term financial future.
