An artist’s impression of the development proposed by Gold Creek Country Club. Image: Cox Architecture.
The Konstantinou Group’s development plans for Gold Creek Country Club land in Nicholls remain alive after a Tribunal decision threw out the Territory Planning Authority’s refusal of three development applications.
The DAs were three of eight lodged at once in November 2023 by Gungahlin Golf Investments (GGI) to cover a $330 million, 694-dwelling commercial accommodation (motel) development over 10 years on 7.5 hectares of land on Curran Drive.
The eight DAs from GGI each represented a stage of the 10-year development and reflected the master plan developed for the project.
Five of these were withdrawn during the assessment period, and the Planning Authority did not accept that the remaining proposals were for motels, arguing that they were, in fact, multi-unit residential developments and were prohibited under the planning rules. It knocked back all three in April this year.
But GGI took the Planning Authority to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, arguing that it had incorrectly characterised the nature of the proposed development.
The Tribunal agreed and overturned the refusals in August, sending the DAs back to the Planning Authority for assessment. ACAT has just published its reasons.
It found that the DA documents made it clear that the proposals were for commercial accommodation, namely a motel.
It said many of the proposal elements of concern to the Planning Authority, such as the building configuration, mailboxes, lack of a check-in facility, and extra parking, were consistent with a modern motel, and not inconsistent with the Crown lease or the Territory Plan.
“If the concept of motel in the Territory Plan picks up the Macquarie Dictionary definition of ‘roadside hotel which provides accommodation for travellers in self-contained, serviced units, with parking for their vehicle’, then this is also picked up by the use of the term in the DAs,” ACAT said.
“Therefore, in our view, the DAs were for commercial accommodation, which is a motel. As such, they were not for a prohibited development under PRZ2 – Restricted Access Recreation Zone of the Territory Plan and could be dealt with in the merit track.”
The Tribunal said this did not mean the proposals should or could have been approved.
“Decisions need to be made in relation to the DAs under section 162 of the Planning and Development Act,” it said.
The proponent said it would wait to see if the Planning Authority would appeal the decision before commenting.
An ACT Government spokesperson said the Planning Authority understood and respected the decision and would consider consider appropriate next steps.
“The ACAT decision did not order that the original proposals should or could have been approved,” the spokesperson said.
“Rather, the ruling noted that decisions made in relation to the development applications must be made under section 162 of the Planning and Development Act 2007.”
The Nicholls Residents Group, which has fought the club’s development plans, said it would need to assess the implications of the decision before commenting.
A ninth DA sought to subdivide the land, but this fell foul of the National Capital Authority’s hills and buffer rules and was refused in October last year.
The residents group said at the time that it meant the other DAs could not stand, but GGI could lodge a Reconsideration changing the boundaries of the subdivision.
The Konstantinou Group bought the Gold Creek Country Club from the ACT Government for $3 million in 2005.
