Following passionate representation from the community, council has taken a strong stance against the proposed Frogs Hollow flight school and has unanimously agreed to make a submission against the development to the Joint Regional Panning Panel (JRPP).
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There is believed to have been growing concern among councillors over the distress the proposal was causing in the community, but some councillors wanted to get advice on what effect a submission might have on council’s involvement in the JRPP prior to taking any further action.
However, that was pre-empted with a motion by councillor Tony Allen at Wednesday’s council meeting. The motion called on council to make a submission on the basis of a number of issues including noise, pollution, amenity, decreased land value, environmental impacts and waste management.
Cr Allen was at pains to point out that when the area was first sub-divided council highlighted the existing airfield and go-kart areas nearby and advised buyers to minimise noise from these sources through the design of their homes when they built.
But he was concerned this development was in a different league and said it was “not the location for a project of this size”.
“I am against the location not the development,” Cr Allen said.
“Staff have a week to prepare a written submission. The JRPP is an august body with plenty of skills on it,” Cr Allen said.
This is the single biggest issue I've seen since coming into council in 2002.
- Cr Tony Allen
He was asked by councillor Jo Dodds if he would OK the same proposal in a different location, to which Cr Allen replied “it would have to be considered on its merits”.
But some councillors disagreed saying that the development had no place in the shire.
Councillor Sharon Tapscott who had attended the community meeting against the development, with Cr Dodds, said there were fears in the community over the future of local farmland.
“If the flight school is the end game why not put it in the desert. The land is cheaper and better suited for the purpose. The developer has not demonstrated any benefit to this shire and I commend the community for fighting against this. We should stop selling off our land to foreign interests and preserve our culture,” Cr Tapscott said.
Councillor Mitchell Nadin added that while he wasn’t anti-development, it was “a bad proposal in its entirety”.
“Blind Freddy can see the public don’t like it,” he said.
Councillor Cathy Griff also said it had no place in the Bega Valley.
“”If there was another location in shire I would still say no. I have another suggestion – Essendon. This is not suitable for this shire,” Cr Griff said.
Cr Dodds said the matter was causing stress and distress to families in the area and said she had read the many emails and submissions on the proposal.
However Mitch Boyle, the founder and director of Sports Aviation Flight College Australia, the company behind the development application, accused councillors of failing to take the opportunity to create jobs for the younger generation.
“While several councillors have engaged with the ill-informed no campaign, not one has taken the opportunity to call me to discuss the college proposal. With the amount of information we have put out, including a fact check each week, you would think there may have been one question from at least one of the councillors,” Mr Boyle said.
Fairfax Media put Mr Boyle’s point to Crs Allen and Nadin, who both said that as councillors they could not engage individually with proponents of a specific DA.
Cr Nadin said that council had received a report on the proposal when the DA, which contained a lot of information, came to council.
The agreement to make a submission was unanimous among the councillors in the chamber. Councillors Russell Fitzpatrick and Robyn Bain had both left the chamber during the discussion as they are representatives on the JRPP.
How will this affect council representatives on the JRPP
Private infrastructure developments with a capital investment value of over $5million must be referred to the Southern Region Joint Regional Planning Panel (the JRPP).
The JRPP allows the relevant council to have two representatives on the panel. These were originally to be Crs Tapscott and Dodds but after they attended the community meeting on the flight school proposal, they were no longer eligible.
Crs Fitzpatrick and Bain became the new representatives.
The question remains though as to whether council’s submission to the JRPP will affect its ability to have representation on the panel.
In his opening statements to council, Cr Allen said he understood the JRPP Secretariat has advised:
• Council may make a submission in relation to the Development Application provided those nominated members of the Panel declare their position, leave the Chamber and take no part in the debate/discussion. This will not affect the panel member's involvement at the JRPP determination meeting.
• Any submission made must be sent directly to the JRPP Secretariat and not through the assessing team.
If council is not allowed to have its own councillors as representatives on the JRPP in this instance, it may chose to use councillors from a nearby shire such as Eurobodalla.