Key Issues Raised in the Forum Committee’s Submission
In April, Council dismissed feedback submitted by the Berry community on tourist development impacts as “not necessarily reflecting the views of the broader Shoalhaven”.
We are now providing Council with evidence that 90% of the development applications for tourist accommodation in the Shoalhaven over the last 15 months have been in the Berry / Kangaroo Valley area. The views of the Berry community are therefore the most relevant in the Shoalhaven.
Inappropriate tourist development, facilitated by inadequate planning controls and dismissal of community concerns, will cause Berry to lose the very qualities that make it a very popular tourist and residential area.
We stress the need to rezone the large lots in Huntingdale from RI to R2 to prevent inappropriate multi-dwelling developments, and address dual occupancy in-fill development, managing housing growth, infrastructure issues and support for Berry’s commercial centre.
We also point out that community concerns with the impacts of developments are largely being overlooked in Council’s development assessment process, which is heavily weighted towards obtaining approval for the application.
We need Council to address these critical issues. It is vital that the views of the Berry community are heard and actioned.
You can read the Committee’s submission here –
Part 1 – Managing the Impacts of Tourist Development
Part 2 – Managing Growth and Infrastructure