Singleton Mayor, John Martin had to use his casting vote twice during last night’s extraordinary council meeting held to discuss the contentious Dalwood Road Planning Proposal.
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The proposal seeks to rezone approximately 48 hectares of land on both sides of Dalwood Road, 2km north east of the Branxton Town Centre, into primarily residential blocks.
At present the area is a mix of RU1 primary production and R5 large lot residential, with a working Poultry Farm in the vicinity.
After listening to some passionate objectors and well-prepared proponents, a notice of motion to alter a previous resolution pertaining to the development was put forward by Councillors Rogers, Moore and Diemar-Jenkins.
Some robust debate ensued and when it came to making a decision there was a deadlock, so the Mayor used his casting vote to break it which led to the defeat of the motion.
A motion that if passed would have most likely led the Department of Planning and Environment assessing the application sooner rather than later.
But now it will be later as a further twist saw Councillor Adamthwaite offer a “foreshadowed amendment.”
Essentially it proposed not to submit the planning proposal to the department until a draft form of the Branxton Sub-regional Land Use Strategy (BSRLUS) was available and the issues raised by OEH in regard to flooding were addressed.
These issues related to Section 177 Part 4.3 (6) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 which deals with Flood Prone Land.
Councillor Capsanis, who voted for the foreshadowed amendment, said two important questions relating to this section of the act had not been answered.
“Will the development result in significant flood impacts to other properties, and will the development in this area result in a substantially increased requirement for government spending on flood mitigation measures, infrastructure or services?” she stated.
Pleading with other councillors to take advantage of the extra time given to them by the department to finalise the proposal, she said: “let’s take the time to get this right, not only for residents of the Branxton but for the whole community.”
Arguing against the motion, Councillor Moore said issues surrounding section 177 will never be solved at a local level and needed to be decided by the minister.
At the start of the meeting, during the public access period, proponents suggested a more detailed flood study was not required until the development application stage of the planning process.
Councillor Martin said he is not convinced the proposal is a good thing, and at this stage he has concerns about flooding - using the words duty of care and due diligence repeatedly.
He is also troubled by the fact a draft BSRLUS does not even exist yet.
The Branxton Sub-Regional Land Use Strategy is being prepared jointly by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Cessnock City Council and Singleton Council and will guide future development in the area.
Just prior to a vote being taken, Councillor Adamthwaite said he understands the proponent’s frustration as the proposal has been on the table for four-and-a-half years now.
“However, we need to look at the big picture- this is not the first time and it will not be the last time a proposal like this takes time to assess.”
“Lots of things have changed since the original application was put forward; this includes a change of government and some of the rules, and now with the upcoming release of the BSRLUS.”
“If these two blocks were not in the middle of an existing community then things would probably be different but they are so I can’t support this if it makes anyone else worse off.”
Once again when it was time to make a decision, the Mayor had to use his casting vote to get the motion carried.
The proposal in now due for completion on January, 11 2016 and in a letter from the department dated, July 14 it clearly sets out what needs to be done to meet this deadline.
