By Michael Burt
Significant community support has inspired Bellingen Shire Council to proceed with the proposed disposal of Council-owned land at Ferry Street, Urunga, to the Waterfall Way Community Land Trust Ltd (WWCLT) for $1.
More than 80 per cent of submissions backed the affordable housing project in the recent community consultation period, which also exposed concerns and opposition from some Urunga residents.
Those concerns include loss of local green space, increased traffic and encroachment of the proposed development onto an adjacent public road reserve.
Council’s General Manager, Mark Griffioen, said council will advance the transfer plans while promising to address specific neighbor complaints during the final Development Application (DA) process.
“The level of participation through the exhibition process was significant. While 82 per cent of the 350 submissions received supported proceeding, Council also considered the concerns raised by those who objected,” Mr Griffioen said.
“This decision allows the proposal to move forward, but there are still important safeguards, approvals and conditions that must be satisfied before any transfer, or development can occur.”
Council’s resolution requires the final contractual arrangements to include safeguards before the land can be transferred to WWCLT. These include development consent, evidence of adequate and available project finance, agreed delivery milestones, and sunset and termination provisions.
There are also restrictions securing the land to the agreed Community Land Trust housing purpose, and mechanisms enabling Council to recover, reacquire or otherwise protect its interest if the agreed purpose does not proceed or is not maintained.
In June, Council resolved to publicly exhibit the proposed financial assistance associated with disposing of the Ferry Street land, independently valued at $750,000, to WWCLT for $1 before making a further decision.
Mr Griffioen said the staged process was designed to allow the proposal to be considered progressively, with each stage subject to its own requirements and decision points.
“The August resolution does not provide development consent or authorise construction.”
“WWCLT will still need to progress through the applicable planning and development assessment processes and demonstrate that the project can be financed and delivered before the land transfer can be completed.”
“The safeguards establish clear conditions that must be satisfied before the transaction can be completed, providing Council with mechanisms to protect the community interest if those requirements are not met.”
Mr Griffioen said any future development proposal for the site will be subject to the relevant statutory planning and assessment requirements.
“This includes consideration of environmental, Aboriginal cultural heritage, engineering, traffic, access, drainage, servicing, and other applicable planning matters. The development application process will also provide further opportunities for community engagement.”
Council Mayor, Cr Steve Allan, said councillors considered concerns about the value of the land, governance and probity, site selection, environmental and cultural heritage matters, project feasibility and the long-term protection of the community interest.
“Housing affordability is a challenge that extends well beyond local government. State and federal governments have the primary policy, funding and regulatory levers, but councils and community organisations are increasingly being asked to help respond to what is happening on the ground in their own communities,” said Mayor Allan.
“For Bellingen Shire, that means looking at where Council can practically support different approaches without pretending local government can solve the housing crisis on its own.”
“This proposal reflects that approach. It is about being prepared to test a different model, work with community organisations and use the tools available to Council where there is a clear strategic and community benefit.”
WWCLT chair, Kerry Pearse, said the Ferry Street proposal is informed by established Community Land Trust developments in countries like the US and UK.
“We are absolutely thrilled with the community support and looking forward to working with the families on registration of interest list and steps toward the DA,” Ms Pearce said.
“This is an important project not just for the people who are are going to live there, it will also demonstrate the proof of concept for a community land trust model.”
“We see this as the beginning of a major journey towards a substantial number of affordable homes for locals. Our target is 100 homes in 10 years, and not all of those will be on Council owned land.”
Road reserve included in Ferry St concept design
The Waterfall Way Community Land Trust (WWCLT) has confirmed a desire to include a neighbouring road reserve in the footprint of the proposed Ferry Street affordable housing project.
Some Urunga residents have cited confusion about the inclusion of road reserve and concerns about the legality and precedent of using public road corridors for the development.
“We have always been upfront about wanting to talk to Council about the road reserve, and the concept design on our website includes it,” said WWCLT chair Kerry Pearse
“I raised the issue of the road reserve at the June Council meeting and made it clear we wanted to include the road reserve and want a process around that.”
“We have not met with Council staff since March last year to discuss the project because we do want compromise the process, hence there have been no formal discussions about the road reserve.”
“We are lookign forward to meeting with the council staff soon to have practical conversations about this project going forward.”
Ms Pearse said any concerns regarding the use of the road reserve would be addressed during the Development Application process.