We have learned that the NSW Aboriginal Land Council has completed the processes required to be issued with freehold title to the 2000 m2 site.
NSWALC claimed the site under the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act, legislation introduced by the then Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Frank Walker, in 1983. Its purpose was to compensate for dispossession through economic self-determination and social, economic and environmental benefits – so where “unused and unneeded” Crown land is transferred to land councils, existing constraints such as local zoning do not determine the land’s development potential.
We have learned that in June NSWALC applied to the new Housing Delivery Authority to proceed on the HDA fast track for residential development. The NSWALC proposal was for two apartment towers of about twenty storeys each.
Since NSWALC was not approved for the fast track (no “amber light”) their proposal will probably require a development delivery plan to be approved by the Minister under the Planning Systems SEPP, and then a planning proposal to be assessed on the Aboriginal Land Planning Pathway. This probably involves stages of assessment and possibly two rounds of public consultation.
Finally, we have learned that NSWALC’s big development at Belrose, though approved in most respects, has been stalled by bush fire risk considerations. This could mean that the development of the Waverton Bowling Club site becomes the new priority.
The background is outlined in the following document: