Following a ‘Cows or Concrete’ petition signed by 642 local residents, Kiama Council officially and unanimously rejected a proposal for a residential development on a West Kiama site to proceed to the Department of Planning for Gateway Determination. Disappointed yet undeterred developers, Traders In Purple, believe this project they coined ‘Springside Hill’ could have provided significant relief amid the current housing crisis.  

Traders in Purple had proposed a rezoning and subsequent development of approximately 1000 new homes on the 114 hectares of rural land, located 1.7 kilometres west of Kiama train station at 177 Long Brush Road, Jerrara, 33 Greyleigh Drive and 103 Jamberoo Drive, Kiama. It was anticipated that 25 percent of these homes would be allocated to locals, key workers and affordable housing. Furthermore, a portion of the land would potentially house additional facilities such as shopping and recreational spaces, school and place of worship. 

The proposal lodged earlier this year swiftly became quite the bone of contention among the community. In a statement released by Council on 23 January, Chief Executive Officer, Jane Stroud, explained that the planning proposal had been made public at an earlier stage than standard procedure to ensure the community remained fully informed given its scale and scope. 

The matter was discussed at the Public Access meeting on 15 April, including input from Karen Fowler, who spoke on behalf of the Cows or Concrete Action Group. Fowler reiterated that the petition was not about the community being resistant to change and growth, but rather rallying for development to take place in the right areas. 

“Our petition was driven by a desire to protect the significant environmental, heritage and rural landscape values of the upper Spring Creek catchment and the Spring Creek wetlands. The key issue for us was that the West Kiama planning proposal was not consistent with the Kiama Local Government Strategic Planning Statement 2020 or the Illawarra Shoalhaven Regional Plan 2041,” explained Fowler. 

“The site was not one of the greenfield sites identified in these strategic planning documents for potential residential development. These planning processes reinforced the view to the community that the upper Spring Creek Catchment and outside the western boundary of the Kiama urban area would remain protected for at least the next 20 years.” 

She concluded at the Public Access meeting “that any justifiable need to extend the western urban boundary of Kiama into this catchment should be determined through the Growth and Housing Strategic Planning Process and not via this rezoning application.”

For similar reasons, all councillors supported the recommendation to halt the project from proceeding to Gateway at the general meeting held the following evening, 16 April. Councillor Imogen Draisma commended the community for the work on the petition and their ‘reasonable and considerate’ advocacy. 

“I think the community’s concerns are very much echoed by the correspondence we have received by various state government departments in regards to the proposal in its current form. And a number of questions still remain. Given the size and the scope of the proposal, I cannot in good faith as a counsellor support the merit of this proposal at this point in time,” said Cr Draisma. 

Largely due to the proposal’s inconsistency with planning documentation, it was subsequently determined that it did not currently satisfy strategic merit and site-specific merit tests. It was therefore recommended that Council ‘actively work with the proponent through the Growth and Housing Strategy process to consider this land, along with other sides for future potential urban expansion, in conjunction with the Urban Development Program’. 

“As this site hadn’t been identified in any of council’s planning documents, I think it is prudent that we let it go for the time being until we have got our Growth and Housing Strategy in front of us and we can all see exactly where Kiama’s development is likely to progress to rather than have surprises like this come to us,” said Cr Kathy Rice.

In a statement released on 17 April, Traders In Purple said they remain hopeful of this development coming to fruition. They claimed that had the proposal not been halted, the first homes – and therefore relief to those among broad demographics feeling the weight of the housing crisis – may have been delivered by 2027.

“Clearly, a situation where the average house costs 15 times the median income and private rental consumes more than a third of wages is not sustainable. It is already forcing locals, particularly those wanting to buy a home and raise a family, to leave town, leaving Kiama without essential workers and the next generation of families,” declares Traders In Purple Chief Executive Officer, Brett Robinson. 

“It is a myth that every Baby Boomer is sitting on property wealth. Many of the most valuable people in the Kiama community, who have spent a lifetime working in essential but poorly paid jobs, face a grim future in which they can never afford to retire. They desperately need the affordable, secure housing that Springside Hill will provide.”

Robinson also expressed concern regarding purportedly inaccurate reporting prepared by council, which may have influenced councillors’ decision. He believes the report contained factual errors regarding timeframe, contributions, utility infrastructure and government agencies. 

“The report wrongly states the timeframe for delivery of housing is 10 to 15 years, when in fact the project could commence immediately,” says Robinson. 

Additionally, “contrary to the report’s claim that no contributions plan has been provided, Traders In Purple has submitted an offer to fund the necessary infrastructure to support development of the site at no cost to council.”

Robinson also states that “proposed standalone sewerage system is not, as the report claims, an undesirable outcome. It is a proven sustainable solution to managing wastewater and our delivery partner is authorised to provide water services across NSW, servicing 25,000 dwellings. The views of key government agencies are misrepresented as unsupportive of the proposal, whereas their responses indicate a request for further information.”

Traders In Purple remain hopeful of continuing their partnership with Housing Trust in working alongside Council and the community in reviving their plans to address the current housing shortage and subsequent affordability crisis as part of Council’s Growth and Housing Strategy. Whether the developer takes the application to the State Government for review and how this proposal therefore takes shape remains yet to be seen.