It's been six weeks since the draft Batemans Bay Masterplan went out for public comment and there has been plenty of interest.
The draft plan pitches Eurobodalla Council's long-term vision for the Batemans Bay CBD, an area stretching from the town centre to the industrial area and along Beach Road down to the Batehaven shops. While planners, engineers and architects helped bring together this draft, community consultation will inform the next iteration of the masterplan.
So far, we've had around 1,200 people come through the project shopfront and over 150 engage with planning staff at project market stalls in Moruya, Batemans Bay and Narooma Plaza. A total of 120 submissions have been lodged so far in person and online. This feedback helps planning staff understand what locals want.
One thing everyone agrees is something needs to be done for the Bay.
"Unfortunately, the town is looking a bit tired, and we really want to find ways to encourage people to live, work and relax in the town centre," says manager of strategic planning, Vivian Straw.
"A fundamental goal of the masterplan is to encourage residential development and more people living in town. More people means more activity, more places to shop, and more places to dine."
While locals show strong support for the revitalisation, the height associated with the landmark sites in the draft plan have some worried the town risks becoming the next Gold Coast. And while Mr. Straw and his team understand the concern, they're putting things in perspective.
"The Gold Coast has more than 30 buildings over 100 metres high and a handful over 200 metres whereas the draft masterplan is talking about 5 landmark sites where heights up to 80-100 metres may be achievable," said Mr. Straw.
"In terms of natural population growth, the Bay is below Ulladulla, Nowra, and Wollongong, and nowhere near the scale of Queensland's second largest city which is forecast to reach 1,000,000 by 2050."
"In order incentivise good-looking development that works well with its surroundings, we need to review our planning regulations. Current height limits were set in 2012, based upon structure plans prepared in 2007/08. A lot of things have changed since then so it's good to review what's working well and what we can do better."
"The goal we all have is to help Batemans Bay become a beautiful town in a beautiful location. When people drive over the Clyde River Bridge, we want them to say wow!".
