Helensburgh & District News

May 2007 - Vol.17 No.4

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Photomontage of “Pavilions in the Park”, proposed Eco Resort Development for Stanwell Park.

By Bronwyn McGrath

A development application for a proposed $1.8 million Eco Resort Development on two hectares of land at 98-100 Lawrence Hargrave Drive in Stanwell Park has been assessed by council as ‘unsatisfactory’.
The proposed resort is to include five cabins, a conference room, a bathhouse, swimming pool and walking trail.
The assessment by a council landscape designer states that “The overall development will have a negative visual impact to the escarpment landscape (and) the current documentation does not clearly illustrate the full impact that the development will create visually.”
A Stanwell Park resident commented that ‘exclusivity’ can also cause problems.
“While I understand a resort may not want the general public to access the grounds, there are a number of walking trails in and around Stanwell Park which must remain open to the public and access should not be prevented as a result of an exclusive resort being constructed.”
Another concern is that the proposed development is in a DEC Regional Habitat Corridor. The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) has mapped Key Habitats and Corridors in NSW. Corridors provide a link across public and private lands to existing reserves. They play an important role in maintaining biodiversity and prevent plants and animals from being cut off and isolated from their natural habitats as a result of land clearing.
Cardno Forbes Rigby submitted the application under Wollongong City Council’s Local Environment Protection Plan, which allows ecotourism facilities within coastal, and escarpment areas.
The director of Cardno Forbes Rigby, David Laing, was quoted in the Illawarra Mercury on 20th April as saying ‘he would respond to all council’s concerns’.
The proposed Eco Resort Development DA.2007/360 is currently on display at Helensburgh Library.