Peat Island Redevelopment - Cheeropoint, New South Wales, Australia

Peat Island Redevelopment

As part of their strategy of consultation and to keep the residents in our community informed, the State Property Authority of the NSW Government issued a number of communications under the broad title 'Peat Island and Mooney Mooney Lands'.

Peat Island and Mooney Mooney Lands

Community Newsletters

Map of Potential Land Uses

Peat Island and Mooney Mooney Rezoning Application Process

Community Survey Results

Media Release - Dominic Perrottet MP

NSW Government - Planning and Environment

Property NSW Peat Island Link

Property NSW Peat Island Video Presentation

Local Environment Plans

The process of creating Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) starts with a planning proposal which in most cases is undertaken by your local council.

Proposals are then submitted for an assessed by the Department of Planning & Environment (DPE) to determine whether they have sufficient merit to proceed. This is called "The Gateway".

A Gateway Determination will then be issued specifying if the proposal may proceed and any conditions which must be met, such as additional studies, agency consultation and community consultation required.

Once community consultation is complete, the relevant planning authority (generally the local council) reviews public submissions.
Should the Minister (or delegates, including councils where matters have been delegated) approve the local environmental plan, it is published on the NSW legislation website and becomes law.

Two Gateway determinations have currently been made:

22nd September, 2015 (Failed)

10th August, 2017 (Succeeded)

National Trust

On the 29th March, 2017, the Peat Island part (island and causeway) of the Peat Island redevelopment area was listed on the National Trust Register.

The National Trust listing report for the Peat Island Landscape Conservation Area can be found here:-

Peat Island LCA Listing Report

Community Issues

While the local community in general often have different views on what they see as appropriate development for the area, a number of issues have been raised that do require acknowledgement by the planning authorities, and ultimately demand a response.

Issues such as:-

Infrastructure supply

Unreliable power supply

Mains water supply – existing reservoir tank just manages to meet domestic demand with no proper capacity for fire fighting.

Sewage system – design has allowed only 10% for expansion. An additional 1600 people plus, per the development proposal well exceeds this. Furthermore, another environmental impact study on the effects that the significant population increase will have on the river and the single outfall by the bridge should be carried out.

Noise

70-80% of the area around Peat Island has been identified as being affected by highway noise that is beyond the residential standard. The proposal addresses this by requiring installation of noise barriers. These will be of some considerable height given the building heights envisaged. There is no mention of preventing reflected noise from the barriers towards the East affecting residents in Point Rd or Kowan Rd.

Traffic

There will be a significant amount of increased traffic but there is no recognition of the impact this will have of our transport hubs of Brooklyn and Berowra and the impact on the already stretched parking availability will be significant. A far as is known, an in-depth assessment of the traffic impact has not been carried out.

Lot Sizes

Lot sizes are not in keeping with the general sizes in Mooney. What’s more, the Council guidelines for R1 and R2 areas have been altered recently to allow for the smaller lots. This is not in keeping with providing a consistent and pleasing aspect in this highly sensitive area. Such sizing may well be appropriate in the Sydney metropolis but it is not appropriate for the Gosford/Wyong region.

Community facilities

The proposal does not provide for any community facilities. e.g. library, meeting hall, playgrounds, etc. There is a requirement for provision open space per head of population and it needs to be demonstrated that this requirement is being met. We are still waiting for the Fire Station matter to be resolved and the community remains poorly served by the now extensive delay.

Marina

This part of the proposal is seen as very problematic due to dredging and river flow issues.

Heritage Buildings

The proposal does not include any plan for use or preservation of the Heritage buildings or plan to preserve the path that is the original Pacific Highway. There is no mention of improvements to pedestrian access to and from Point Rd, Peat Island or the Club.

Island Development

A significant area earmarked for development on the Island itself is prone to flooding on king tides but there is no recognition of this, or plan to address, that will meet or consider environment standards/impacts.

Burials etc.

There are said to be some burials in the area on the mainland, and there are some remembrance gardens that hold ashes of previous hospital residents. There is no plan to determine the position of the burials or to preserve the gardens.