27 March 2025

Eurobodalla Shire councillors divided over Batemans Bay Master Plan

| Marion Williams
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There are five key gateway and landmark sites in the Batemans Bay Master Plan. Photo: Eurobodalla Shire Council website.

The concept of 100-metre-high buildings seemed a bit too steep for some councillors when they debated releasing the Batemans Bay Master Plan for public exhibition.

The debate took up a fair amount of the almost four-hour meeting on 25 March (Tuesday).

The plan says Batemans Bay is “in a position where significant change needs to occur to realise the full potential of the locality”.

It is a vision for Batemans Bay in 2100 when the population is projected to be 40,000.

The plan proposes four distinct quarters: tourism, commercial, industrial and residential, marked by “gateway entrances and landmark sites” and more pedestrian- and bike-focused facilities.

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The plan is to transition the town centre from low-density commercial developments to mixed-use higher density development.

Increased residential density will be achieved through smaller lot sizes that suit townhouses and terraces, and through additional height. That entails introducing height in selected locations in the tourism quarter and adjusting maximum height provisions in some residential areas.

The plan focuses on enhancing employment, public spaces, and economic sustainability while respecting the town’s pace of life, environment, and heritage.

The Batemans Bay master plan has a vision for four distinct quarters: tourism, commercial, industrial and residential.

The Batemans Bay master plan has a vision for four distinct quarters: tourism, commercial, industrial and residential. Photo: Eurobodalla Shire Council website.

Before the councillors debated that agenda item, Rob Pollock, president of Moruya Business Chamber, and Alison Miers, a Batemans Bay resident and businesswoman for 40 years, spoke in favour of the master plan at the public forum section of the meeting.

Mr Pollock said Moruya needed a master plan to attract the investment needed to provide housing, including housing in the town centre for the elderly and accommodation for the workers at the new hospital, create jobs for youth, build aged care facilities, and support tourism.

Ms Miers said she was involved with two earlier master plans but nothing happened. “We require everyone to support this and see it to fruition.”

Both agreed that height was necessary for towns to grow.

Councillor Phil Constable said there was good support for the plan in the community, and some angst. He wanted comprehensive community consultation.

Gary Bruce, council’s director of planning and environment, said the plan affected the whole shire so they needed input from everyone.

He said they wanted a recording of a 3D flyover to be displayed in shopfronts and would conduct surveys of people’s opinions on coastal towns. “There will be multiple ways of engaging, including visual,” Mr Bruce said.

The plan will be amended based on community feedback, and staff will hold workshops with councillors before they vote to adopt it.

“If there are significant changes to the master plan after the exhibition, I would suggest we go out for consultation again,” Mr Bruce said.

Eurobodalla Shire councillors with former general manager Warwick Winn.

Eurobodalla Shire councillors with former general manager Warwick Winn. Photo: Eurobodalla Shire Council.

Councillor Colleen Turner said while there was much to admire in the plan, 100 metres was too high, it would be difficult to evacuate people from a 100-metre-tall building in a fire, and there was no background to the projected population of 40,000.

She said she supported medium-density development, but not high-rise development.

The 100-metre building height was also a sticking point for Councillor Anthony Mayne, although he said he was warming to the plan.

“Who has been told about this 100 metres? Commerce? Developers? What happened to the community input,” Cr Mayne asked. “It will set a precedent. It is well and truly too ambitious at this time.”

Councillor Sharon Winslade said she had been trying to imagine “two big masculine buildings” near the Bay Pavilions at the entry to town.

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She said the plan was focused on tourism, did not address rising sea levels, and there were no services such as childcare or schools for residents in the tourism quarter.

Cr Winslade said the disruption caused by building high-rise structures might deter people from coming to Batemans Bay.

Mayor Mat Hatcher encouraged all councillors to support the plan.

“This is probably the most important document that this council term will handle,” he said. “We met with more than 20 different user groups and what came of that is that we have something tangible to go to the community with.

“This is a genuine yell from the top of my lungs for the community to get engaged,” he said. “If you don’t like it, tell us. If you do like it, tell us. The more that we hear from, the longer this process will take, but ultimately we will get to a better decision that we can all agree on.”

The plan will go on exhibition on 14 April.

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I love it! It’s big, glossy. It’s even got a video! Great! And I bet all that cost a bomb. But what is the real plan here, as opposed to the “Master Plan”?

Maybe it’s just, MORE….of everything… But, why? Maybe it’s because Council thinks we like more crowding, more traffic, more noise, more crime (yes, more people, more crime) more pollution and less nature, less trees, birds, fresh air, less community.

And just because people may want to live here isn’t a reason to encourage them, at a significant cost to those who do live here (and whom Council, weirdly, are meant to serve!) Council’s role is not the solving of world hunger, poverty, the “housing crisis”, the wars in Ukraine, the Middle East, etc. No. It’s local. It’s us. The national and state governments, do the other stuff. Councils are meant to serve us.

Now, I know more people means more money, for some (usually developers, who don’t even live here) and that there’s an economic multiplier for small business. Fair enough. I’m not against people making a quid. But there’s a very real price to pay. Do the majority of residents (not visitors or vested interests) really want more destruction of our bush and beach environment. NO, we don’t. But that is where the “Master Plan” it taking us.

According to the Local Government of NSW (LGNSW), “Councils are responsible for representing the interests of their communities and delivering local services and infrastructure”. It is just plain wrong to say: “..significant change needs to occur to realise the full potential of the locality”. It doesn’t. We don’t need Council to continue facilitating the destruction of the things that make people want to come here. Let’s not have (by a thousand cuts) another Gold Coast.

And let’s not get distracted by personal ambitions, ideological enthusiasms, bureaucratic enslavement, vanity or, shock, horror, vested-interests.

It’s well past time to go back to basics. Stop trying to develop Eurobodalla, maintain it. Just that, nothing more.

Hugh Brown

Council is looking to the future. A positive and exciting future. Sadly that means the usual tin foil hats are now on high alert. Creating conspiracy from thin air the transparency demands from local loonies are always amusing.

Trish Hellier9:29 pm 07 May 25

After viewing Councils plans that are on exhibition my views are that the Council should be open and transparent as to what the intended use of these building. I find the two overpowering buildings planned on either side as you exit the Batemans Bay bridge heading north are very overpowering and are ugly and do nothing for the entrance into Batemans Bay they will create a huge shadow. I feeling that something more interesting would be appropriate than large uninteresting highrises. The buildings shown on the old Bowling Club site are a more interesting design, again I think Council should be open and transparent as to the planned usage of these buildings.

Andrew Strawford3:46 pm 05 May 25

This plan is I believe poorly thought through. Whilst good intended to provide more opportunity for homes and growth it doesn’t deal with the route problems.
I am an architect from Canberra who has grown up visiting this region for decades.
The proposal doesn’t address sustainable growth for several reasons.
1. This is poorly laid out of density. There is high density and no density. No inbetween?
2. Zoning doesn’t help for a well balanced economy. Mixed used buildings and spaces are crucial to this.
3. The overall heights don’t respond to the slow paced nature of this region. It gives Goldcoast vibes rather.
4. The shopping centre is still too dominating to the region creating a limiting factor to the space.

There are many prime examples of coastal cities and towns that create a medium density and revitalisation.

Richard McLeod4:25 pm 28 Mar 25

Let’s do nothing and be NIMBYs. Batemans Bay is run down, on welfare and sad. Like many of the NIMBYs in the town.

You really are a no stats expert, Richard, declaring that the town is on welfare.
Right-wingers never bother supplying facts and figures to prove their case. Anyone who disagrees with them, must surely be on welfare. At least you left out the woke nonsense, the Right loves to use.
And they will learn nothing from Saturday. Australians are over divisive characters and culture wars.

If you’re not happy here move. The Gold Coast has plenty of high-rise ugliness for you.

Damien Rogers6:21 pm 27 Mar 25

If councillors really want more housing and development they will first need to remove the many fake scientific restrictions council has been putting over most of the private land in this shire, such as the false claims of abnormal sea level rise. The world’s tide gauges show no abnormal rising whatsoever. It’s a total fabrication using garbage computer models and the failed attempt of satellites to measure accurately. This is a good climate scientist site that shows how ridiculous the climate catastrophe claims are by showing the real measurements. https://www.c3headlines.com/sea-levels.html

Here we go, another unqualified climate export, complete with his ridiculous chart of unproven rot, drawn up by characters who do not even put their names to the so-called report.
Cookerism at its worst.

Dallis Texas3:29 pm 27 Mar 25

Thanks to the Councillors cautioning against 100m highrise buildings at the entry to our area.
How many stories is that, 33 or so?
A little excessive in one jump don’t you think?
Is the current development height on the water 3 stories?
We run the risk of having huge white elephants that people don’t want to live in.
Not sure what the plan is for the Southern end of Orient St CBD – why hasn’t that ever gone ahead? A complete dead zone.

cannedbeeria2:31 pm 28 Mar 25

To add:
As above, by 2100 Batemans Bay population will be about 40,000.
How many cities in Australia have around 40,000 inhabitants?
Of those how many have a maximum building height of 100Metres?
Maybe the plan likes to think of Batemans Bay as the next Gold Coast, with over 666,000 inhabitants?

And the amount of infrastructure required by those towers will choke the poor old Princes Highway – Already busy during peak holiday times (this IS meant to be a tourist zone, so expect a LOT of traffic). So where WILL the bypass go?

Richard McLeod10:37 am 27 Mar 25

What on earth are the Green and Labor Councillors on about? Clr Winslade seems to worry that new building will call disruption? Back to the caves everyone. We expect idiocy from the Greens and light green Clr Mayne, What a hare brained and anti development Council we have. Time for the State Government to step in.

Well said mate, and people wonder why our area is not going ahead.

You should move to the Gold Coast if you want to live amongst high rise.
People move here to live in a pleasant small town with beautiful surroundings and nature. You don’t realise what a treasure it is. Areas like ours will be real treasures in the future if we leave it undeveloped.

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