Cowra Shire Council rejects Tokyo Terrace unit plans

At an extraordinary meeting of the council on Monday this week councillors voted six to three to reject the proposal despite receiving a recommendation from council staff to approve it.

Councillors Erin Watt and Cheryl Downing lead the call to reject the proposal putting before the council nine reasons why it should be refused, with support from deputy mayor Paul Smith and councillors Sharon D'Elboux, Peter Wright and Nikki Kiss.

Mayor Ruth Fagan and councillors Bill West and Judi Smith were in support of approving the development.

It was the second time the developer had proposed construction of units on the block in Tokyo Terrace. Council refused an earlier application to construction nine units on the block.

Councillor Watt moved the latest development application be refused on the grounds it is not consistent with the existing or desired future character of Valley View Estate.

She also said the development did not comply with or was inconsistent with sections of the Council's Development Control Plan (DCP)

Council, she said, should also take the view the development should be considered as a 'greenfield' residential application under the DCP.

If approved the development, she added, would result in over-development to 20 lots on Tokyo Terrace and would not be suitable for the present road hierarchy.

Four Valley View estate residents addressed the extraordinary meeting before councillors debated the matter.

"Your decision tonight should not be one made on your person beliefs or opinions but one that is based on the best interests of residents of Cowra, in particular those in Valley View estate," one resident Karen Reid said.

"We ask that you reject (the DA). We request that council take immediate action to take all necessary steps to ensure the DCP is updated to align with the design guidelines marketed to us when we purchased our properties in Valley View estate.

"(This) DA should not be approved, not even with conditions," she said.

Speaking against the development Cr Watt told Monday's extraordinary meeting the development if approved would cause issues with the road network which she said was constructed based on there being 15 lots in the estate.

She also raised issues relating to parking and to the water connections provided to the estate based on 15 lots.

"It is very clear on the people in the room, the emails we have received and conversations we have had with people in the community that this development application does not meet community interest," Cr Watt said.

"The locality of the Valley View Estate currently has an average lot size of 1000 metres square, the smallest lot is 806 metres square which is more than double the largest lot in this proposed DA.

"I encourage my fellow councillors to approach this with a element of critical thinking," Cr Watt said.

"Missed opportunities" were the words used by Cr Cheryl Downing while speaking against the DA and council revising its DCP in 2021 after rejection of the first application to build units on the Tokyo Terrace block.

"There is no doubt that Cowra Council has missed opportunities to rectify problems in the past that have lead us here today," she said.

"We just need to acknowledge this is a mess up, try to rectify it. I suggest an urgent amendment of the planning documents for Valley View Estate."

Speaking against Cr Watt's recommendation Cr Judi Smith said she has "sympathy with the community of Tokyo Terrace and surrounds".

"I will say, I do not like the development but personal likes and dislikes should not have any place in considering the motion.

"I do regret the fact that after the first development application for 13 Tokyo Terrace was rejected by us and subsequently by the Land and Environment Court on a number of technicalities that have been rectified in this current motion, I on council did not take steps to ensure as far as we could ensure the DCP and the LEP were amended.

"Nevertheless I do believe that as soon as possible we need to take what steps we can to ensure that this sort of thing is not repeated," Cr Judi Smith said.

She added a belief the matter would be taken to the Land and Environment Court and the Council would lose.

"I am 100 per cent sure that should we reject this DA then we will go to the Land and Environment Court where the ruling will be against us.

"I don't believe it is in the wider community's interests to spend a lot of money fighting something that I think we will lose," Cr Smith said.