A screen grab from Eurobodalla Shire Council’s fly-through of the draft Batemans Bay Masterplan. Photo: Screenshot.
Adding high-rise apartments to a coastal town would risk them being snapped up by people looking for second homes.
The concern was raised in feedback to the draft Batemans Bay Masterplan (BBMP), which Eurobodalla Shire Council (ESC) released for feedback in 2025.
It puts forward a proposal to divide Batemans Bay into four distinct quarters (tourism, commercial, industrial and residential) as part of the council’s planning for a predicted population of up to 40,000 by 2100.
As of an October council meeting, the document was being refined to reflect the community feedback.
Meeting documents from the time state ESC received more than 320 text- or image-based submissions, while more than 1500 people went to a shopfront or pop-up market stall.
In December, the council released submissions from local residents, visitors and businesses on its proposal.
Supporters of the plan told the council that the draft BBMP offered a path for urban renewal and revitalisation through its proposal to build a night-time economy, a chance to support local businesses through investment and a way to attract new residents and visitors.
“I am in favour of the coastal areas being revitalised … it is important to take time to update appearances to attract and retain locals and visitors,” one person wrote in their submission.
However, other feedback flagged major concerns with the BBMP’s goals and how it would be implemented.
Under the proposal, parts of the town would be (literally) built up, with some areas given the green light for structures up to 100 metres high.
A major theme in submissions critical of the draft BBMP was the fear the proposal risked forever changing Batemans Bay’s identity.
“I am aware that progress is inevitable but to go from what we have now to the GOLD COAST is appalling,” another person wrote in their submission.
In its submission, the Southcoast Health and Sustainability Alliance (SHASA) pointed to planning documents for several coastal towns in Queensland and NSW, which they said only put forward a six-storey limit on developments.
This submission said the high-rise apartments would likely be bought by Canberrans seeking a holiday property, meaning the extra supply would not increase housing availability for Eurobodalla Shire residents.
A range of other submissions said a lower height limit should be considered, while one called on the council to introduce a build-to-rent scheme for residential areas.
Meanwhile, other submissions argued that the proposal for taller buildings risked overshadowing existing properties, and would bring extra traffic and increase demand on infrastructure and services.
“I can only say, this plan was written by property developers, for property developers and [there is] no forethought to additional infrastructure required to support the height and density requirements that will need to be in place, nor does it take into consideration any existing properties who now have a water view,” one person wrote.
Dozens of submissions called on ESC to scale back the proposed building height limits. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Several submissions called for further attention to be paid to climate change, arguing the impacts of riverine flooding and sea level rise should be given a higher priority.
“The draft plan is nearly silent on the threat of sea level rise, with no solutions for protection from flooding,” a submission states.
“The experience for residents and visitors in future [decades] could be more mini Venice than mini Gold Coast.”
Feedback also called on the council to install more electric charging stations and support the uptake of solar panels on new buildings.
Heritage NSW lodged a submission calling for development of two heritage assessments.
It also said the plan was not expected to affect items on the State Heritage Register, but 12 items on a heritage list from the council fell into the area covered by the BBMP.
In their submission, another person described the council’s decision to base the document around long-term predictions as “problematic”. (The plan is being envisaged as a way to shape and guide ESC planning until 2100.)
“No other shire or municipality in Australia (nor, it appears, anywhere else in the world) has a masterplan longer than 30 years,” they wrote.
“The ambition of this plan’s authors that theirs will be relevant for 75 years thus seems unrealistic and unnecessary.”
Another submission called on the council to ensure the plan was reviewed throughout its life, should it be implemented, and refined to more strongly reflect other council policy documents.
The draft BBMP, supporting documents and the feedback submissions are available on Eurobdalla Shire Council’s website.
