Wedged between the developers, Cabarita Beachside Pty Ltd, the almost owners of the 38 apartments and local outrage Tweed Shire Council (TSC) reversed their decision of 4 August and approved the strata subdivision for the units at 39-41 Tweed Coast Road, Bogangar at an extraordinary meeting on Monday.
The Council had been left in an unenviable position when the developer refused to comply with the car parking regulations set out under the Tweed Development Control Plan (TDCP). The development application (DA), which had been part of a larger State government approval in 2009, was originally refused on the basis of the DA not meeting parking regulations. The developer then used this as a reason to terminate the contracts for the apartments that people had bought years earlier off the plans and were expecting to move into in a matter of weeks. They emailed everyone who had paid their deposit a scan of a written cheque of the deposit, however, none of the future owners accepted them.
A subsequent meeting of those affected and councillors, the backlash of the community against the developers and legal action started by some of the future apartment owners led to negotiations and the developer put a revision application for the DA in to council.
‘Council agreed to review its decision after a Section 8.2 determination review of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act was lodged by the proponent on the NSW Planning Portal on Thursday 25 August,’ said Tweed Council in a press release.
The developers agreed to reinstate the contracts of the DA was passed by the council. Following the receipt of a petition with 85 signatures and one objection to the DA the development was passed on Monday, 12 September with no council debate.
As of Wednesday new contracts were being signed, at another cost of thousands of dollars to the apartment owners, as people looked to secure their new homes.
‘The community and local residents really got behind us and council definitely empathised and probably did something they’ve never done before in the overturning of the ruling,’ said one local who asked not to be named.
Legal action
Some apartment purchasers have come together and are pursuing legal action against the developer in relation to the original termination of the contracts.
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