Hometown Australia approved for 136-home LLC on NSW North Coast

Land lease operator Hometown Australia has received development approval for its new 136-home community at Yamba on the NSW North Coast. The NSW Northern Regional Planning panel narrowly gave the thumbs up in a 3-2 vote, with both representatives of Clarence Valley Council siding against the $30-million-plus proposal. The Parkside development has been scaled down from its initial proposal of 147 units, and will comprise single-storey homes only. Despite some concerns around flood risk, panel chair Paul Mitchell ultimately decided the proposal had sufficiently addressed potential issues, as reported in the Grafton Daily Examiner.

“The land is on a one-in-100-year flood-plain, but the actual buildings are on land that has been previously filled, and is above that flood level. “There is already an approval for a residential subdivision on the land. In terms of evacuation options, there is ample warning time in Yamba of flood events because it is downstream, and the proposal for a community centre provides for facilities in terms of evacuation,” he said.