Here is where things are up to with the opposition to the 38 Apartment Block at 4 Murdoch Street on Moona Moona Creek. 

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What the Council has done

The Council has sent letters to the developer seeking further information on several matters including the need to provide more car parking spaces on site.  The Council has asked the developer to comment on the 70 plus opposing submissions, the developer does not legally have to respond to the submissions.  Council Development Officers, however, do have to consider the 70 submissions in their deliberations and assessment of the proposal. The time period given to the developer by Council to provide more information has lapsed and we await a decision as to whether an extension of time will be negotiated. 

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What Keeping Jervis Bay Unspoilt (KJBU) is doing

KJBU is monitoring DA processes and will raise questions strategically. We are aware that refusing the modification could result in the developer going ahead with the original controversial design. He may however make further modifications which meet the Council demands and satisfy some community concerns. However, it’s unlikely we will achieve a resolution that will satisfy those of us who oppose the idea of a huge tourist accommodation block on the banks of Moona Moona Creek.  The major obstacle from the start of the campaign was that the site was sold with an existing but very old development approval. It appears that there is nothing we can do to stop the site from being developed, we can only lobby for some improvements on the design. We expect some news in the coming week as to Council and developer’s next steps. 

The lesson learnt from this and other controversial development campaigns is how important it is that the community speaks out loudly about their concerns. There is a sense that the new Council elected in December are more responsive to community opinion. We will continue to monitor progress on 4 Murdoch and focus our attention on the bigger issues this has raised.

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