Pittwater Life November 2023 Issue

News
Council renews Lizard Rock fight
Northern Beaches Council has
picked holes in the revised
Planning Proposal for 450
homes in the renamed Patyegarang
Development (formerly Lizard
Rock) at Belrose and will renew its
opposition in a new submission to
the NSW Government.
At its October meeting, Council
staff papers observed that the revised
Planning Proposal presented by the
Sydney North Planning Panel – which
was placed on public exhibition
in September and will be open for
submissions through 7 November – failed
to address most of the concerns raised by
Council 12 months ago.
These included severe bush fire risks,
major impacts upon biodiversity, and
inconsistency with Council’s Local
Strategic Planning Statement and Local
Housing Strategy.
But a key point in Council’s
“overarching” concerns with the
revised proposal regarded the required
acquisition of Council land in Forest Way
for a slip lane to evacuate the area.
“The draft Planning Proposal included
a description and map of the proposed
slip lane for evacuation purposes as
required by the RFS (left turn slip lane
AERIAL: The slip lane would exit Morgan Rd onto Forest Way
(top left of pic).
from Morgan Road and allow traffic to
bypass the traffic lights and directly
enter Forest Way), requiring acquisition
of Council land,” Council said.
“No discussion in relation to this
matter has been undertaken.”
Council was disappointed the majority
of elements in the new Planning
Proposal remained the same.
“The proposal still provides for the
development of 450 dwellings in a highly
bushfire-prone area with very restricted
evacuation and transport routes,”
Council said.
“The proposal still would involve the
clearing of approximately 70% of the 70.1
ha site in an undisturbed bushland area
with high conservation value.
“The proposed rezoning to R2 low
density residential and RE2 private
recreation remains inconsistent with
the North District Plan, Council’s
Local Strategic Planning Statement
and Local Housing Strategy, and
Council’s most recent and extensive
work underpinning proposals for
zoning of the Deferred Lands area
under the new consolidated LEP for
the whole of the LGA.
“The revised Planning Proposal
still does not provide sufficient
information or evidence to support the
proposed re-zoning. Nor have any new
or significant mitigation measures or
actions been identified to respond in a
meaningful way to the concerns Council
raised in its submission on the draft
Planning Proposal (in November 2022).”
It noted the revised Planning Proposal
stated that “If Council refuse to negotiate
then Transport for NSW have the powers
to compulsorily acquire the land”.
Council said it would object to the
acquisition of its land to facilitate this
development; further consideration of
Council’s property rights was being
undertaken.
– Nigel Wall
*More info Council website
10 NOVEMBER 2023
The Local Voice Since 1991