Berry Park residents feel they have not been given a fair chance to have a say about a major new development in their neighbourhood.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But Maitland City Council said it would consider all submissions lodged about a plan to build a seniors’ lifestyle village near McFarlanes Road.
Property developer Hilton Grugeon has lodged plans.
The development would include 176 residential dwellings on 166 lots with an average lot size of about 430 square metres.
Council put the plans on public exhibition between November 24 and December 22 last year.
But Berry Park resident Nicola Young said many people in the suburb only became aware of the development plan when leaflets were left in the letterboxes of neighbouring properties in early December.
She said the leaflet invited public submissions to be lodged just before Christmas.
Ms Young said about 50 Berry Park residents gathered for a community meeting earlier this week to discuss their concerns, which included the possible effect the village would have on traffic, stormwater and sewerage in the area.
“We had a couple of weeks, if that, to prepare our submissions,” she said.
“The leaflet was the first time we’d heard anything about it.
“It was sent out at a time when people are very time-poor.”
Development and environment manager David Simm said council officers were assessing stormwater and traffic management issues among a range of other considerations.
He said the proposal included a connection to Hunter Water Corporation’s sewerage network.
Mr Simm said council continued to receive submissions from the community after the December 22 deadline.
“All public submissions, including those taken after the closing date, will be considered in the assessment of the development application,” he said.
“Council is obliged to assess development applications within certain statutory timeframes.
“Council could not reasonably withhold starting the planning assessment until after the Christmas break, as this delay in commencement would potentially expose council to legal challenge.”
A NSW Planning and Environment spokesman told the Mercury that council would send the application and the findings of its assessment to the Hunter and Central Coast Joint Regional Planning Panel for a final decision on whether to let the development proceed.
Mr Grugeon refused to comment on the development.
