Council agrees to five-unit seniors housing

Gosford Council has agreed to the construction of a $750,000, five-unit seniors' housing development in Blackwall Rd, Woy Woy.

Consent was given, in accordance with Section 80(3) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979, subject to conditions being met within four years.

James Brown Oval, adjacent to the development, was identified as a possible contamination hazard.

It was shown as potentially contaminated on Gosford Council's Mapping System due to its previous use as Woy Woy Tip.

As a result the DA was referred to council's environmental officer for assessment.

The officer concluded that: "Due to the distance of the subject site from the old landfill operations, and the lack of evidence suggesting any potentially contaminating activities have historically occurred on the site, no further assessment under SEPP 55 is considered warranted.

However, the conditions of consent agreed to by Gosford Council stated that the developer will need to complete a contamination investigation in accordance with Managing Land Contamination - Planning Guidelines SEPP 55 - Remediation of Land (1998) and the National Environment Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure 1999 (amended May 2013).

The investigation will need to be undertaken by a suitably-qualified environmental consultant.

The site investigation process shall commence with a preliminary investigation and progress to detailed assessments, remediation action plans and validation/monitoring as recommended by the consultant and/or Council.

Council may request a Site Audit Statement and Site Audit Summary Report to be provided by a NSW Environment Protection Authority accredited Site Auditor to confirm that the land is suitable for the intended use.

The site frontage includes approval for a 16 per cent variation to the SEPP relating to housing for seniors or people with a disability.

The SEPP states that site frontage must be at least 20 metres wide measured at the building line.

The applicant has submitted an objection to this rule which Gosford Council assessed and found to be reasonable.

The proposal was considered to be consistent with the objectives of the land's low density residential zoning such as providing for the community's housing needs in a low density residential environment as well as enabling other land uses that provide facilities or services to meet the day to day needs of residents.

"The proposal will not detract from the character or scenic qualities of the area or have unreasonable impacts on the environment," a report prepared Gosford Council's planning department said.

"The rhombus shaped allotment has an area of 1024 square metres and is located on the eastern side of Blackwall Rd."

Until recently it contained a single dwelling and ancillary structures but these were demolished under the authorisation of a private certifying authority on November 5 last year.

The self-care seniors housing units would each include two bedrooms, bathroom, living room, dining and kitchen, a single car space and a small garden or open space area with timber fencing.

"The development is to be designed in a traditional residential style with a similar appearance to that of a single dwelling house when viewed from the street," the report to council said.

Restrictions on the occupation of the housing will also be required to ensure the units are occupied by people who are seniors or people who have a disability, people who live within the same household or staff employed to assist them.

Two-thirds of the residences will have wheelchair access

The developer will be required to make a Section 94 contribution of $44,752 towards Peninsula Open Space and Recreation equivalent to a credit of one allotment.

Gosford Council agenda GOV.26, 12 Apr 2016