When you’re committed to maintaining heritage, there will be times when the going gets a little tough.
The Berrima you see today has not been preserved without the occasional debate. The Association acknowledges that a degree of misinformation exists, but here are the facts.
People say the Berrima Residents Association will reject my development application
Not so.
Wingecarribee Shire Council has sole decision making powers when it comes to planning approvals in the Shire. The BRA’s role is to comment on applications where the Association believes that a proposed development does not comply with Council’s planning objectives or special control for Berrima. The final decision on all development matters affecting Berrima rests solely with Council.
The BRA has only recently concerned itself with Development Applications
BRA archives show, through the minutes of the Association, that the Association has been actively commenting on Development Applications over the past 20 years.
Indeed, in the early days, consideration of DAs was almost the only concern of the Association.
The BRA’s consideration of DAs is limited to whether the DA complies to the local planning laws, as confirmed by the resolution in 2013 to that effect.
People say that the Berrima Residents Association stopped a hospice being built in Berrima
Not so.
Wingecarribee Shire Council voted in 2015 against the subdivision and spot rezoning that was proposed to accommodate the Hospice on rural land at the entrance to Berrima. Although the planning proposal stated that the building would be no bigger than a house and situated behind a screen of trees, the proposal before Council was to change the permitted use of 5 acres of land, which extends well beyond the small area proposed for the initial building.
The Berrima Residents Association spoke at the Council meeting, drawing Council’s attention to the need to keep the rural entrance to the village as rural. In the statement to Council, the BRA proposed an alternative location for a hospice in Berrima itself, which would have been more suitable from a town planning aspect.
The Association is not opposed to having the Hospice in the village, it merely objected to the particular location.
Council minutes for the meeting on 14 October 2015 record that the majority of Councillors consisted of Clr. Arkwright, Clr. Campbell, Clr. Gair, Clr. McLaughlin and Clr. Uliana voted against the current proposal. Those in favour were Deputy Mayor Scandrett, Clr. Turland and Mayor Whipper.
The staff report to Council noted that the site proposed is adjacent to the Old Hume Highway on the corner of Greenhills Road and that the present landowner has tried several times in the past, each time unsuccessfully, to have the land rezoned and subdivided.
Hopefully, the Hospice will be successful wherever it is finally located.