Tweed councillors have voted to defer a plan to gut a block of flats to create a three-storey ‘McMansion’ on the Hastings Point beachfront.
Council planners recommended approval of the mammoth home, despite it being 0.5m higher than required by the village’s development control plan (DCP). It also breaches council’s coastal setback regulations, being 2.5 metres from the boundary rather than the required five metres.
Mayor Barry Longland said he could not understand why the reconstruction plans had reached councillors for a decision. ‘Let’s get real, this is outside the DCP, I don’t know why we are arguing about it,’ he said.
But Cr Warren Polglase predicted the project would end up in a Land and Environment Court appeal if councillors voted to refuse the reconstruction.
‘The DCP is only a guide document and this proposal is a restoration as the building already exists,’ said Cr Polglase.
A council workshop on the matter is expected to be held next month.
