The Oaks Ranch, located to the west of Mossy Point in the Eurobodalla, is a hotel and tourist facility. Photo: Tom McGann.
A major development outside Batemans Bay has been given the green light to go ahead – including expanding a hotel, building a day spa and creating 76 new residential lots – after the plans were initially rejected by council.
Eurobodalla Shire Council refused the development application (DA) for the 108 ha of land at Old Mossy Point Road, between Mossy Point and Tomakin, which is the location of a hotel and tourist facility called The Oaks Ranch.
The ranch already has a function centre, swimming pool, 14 hotel rooms in two structures, maintenance buildings and a nine-hole golf course. While vegetation at the site has been cleared, large portions remained wooded.
Mossy Point Investments lodged the DA to develop the site in 2020 before there were a number of amendments.
The DA sought to add nine rooms to the hotel, move the golf course and build a day spa, golf clubhouse, convenience store/bistro as well as tennis courts, parking areas, internal roads and maintenance buildings.
It contained plans to create a residential precinct by subdividing the site to create 76 residential lots as well as one lot for multi-dwelling housing and associated works like a second emergency exit and utility infrastructure.
There were also plans to use landfill to raise parts of the site, particularly the relocated golf course.
Mossy Point Investments appealed council’s decision to refuse the DA to the NSW Land and Environment Court and the court announced it had been successful on 18 September.
Commissioner Peter Walsh said the amendments resulted in experts generally finding that each of the reasons why the DA should have been refused had been addressed, subject to consent conditions.
He said there were a large number of objections from members of the public, but their submissions had resulted in substantial changes.
Some of the complaints arose because the site borders a large residential area called Estuary Estate and residents were concerned their rural views would be replaced by dense housing and concerned about increased traffic and noise.
But the DA proposed a 15 metre wide vegetation buffer along the boundary to mitigate these concerns.
Members of the public were concerned about land clearing, but the commissioner said experts were satisfied with the amended plans and a positive feature of the proposal was how 60 per cent of the site would be set aside for conservation.
Evacuation access during a bushfire emergency was also a concern, but the commissioner said experts supported the proposed secondary emergency evacuation access.
“The potential adverse implications associated with the proposal are outweighed by positive features, including in relation to provision of additional housing supply, tourism-related facilities which can bring economic and social benefit and the retention of some 60 per cent of the site for conservation purposes in perpetuity,” Commissioner Walsh said in his decision.
He said the appeal should be upheld and development consent should be granted, subject to several conditions he determined.
A Eurobodalla Council spokesperson said council opposed the DA because information around legal access to Old Mossy Point Road and the Princes Highway – along with other significant gaps in needed information – was not provided.
“Despite our best efforts, council was unable to obtain the required information from the applicant – it was later made available to the court during the appeal process,” the spokesperson said.
“The 12 months of litigation cost council over $500,000 and we intend to pursue costs to cover the multiple occasions the application was amended during this appeal process.
“The applicant has removed the western access to the development during the appeal and is required to upgrade the existing road network at Clearwater Terrace and Estuary Way, including provision for shared pathways, for the development. These changes align with council’s original assessments.”
