The Sydney Western City Planning Panel has knocked back a $63 million plan to expand the Katoomba Christian Convention centre into a 3500 seat place of worship over the next three decades.
At a public determination meeting on Tuesday December 4, held at the council chambers, the panel refused consent for the expansion of the bushland property on Cliff Drive on the grounds of over-development and a lack of bushfire certification.
The panel heard no bush fire safety authority had been issued and the amount of clearing was substantial.
Appeals were made by residents, as well as the Blue Mountains Conservation Society.
In its statement to the Panel, the Society said they agreed with council’s extensive assessment report which recommended development consent be refused.
Conservation Society president Madi Maclean said the proposal was “totally inappropriate for the site – the new buildings exceeded current height limits and covered too much of the site”.
“Given the height, size and loss of vegetation, the development would have been visually intrusive and would have been clearly seen from key escarpment vantage points”, she added.
Residents told the panel they were already experiencing problems with noise, traffic and parking problems.
The assessment report from council said the development did not comply with key provisions of the Blue Mountains Local Environmental Plan 2015, or the Development Control Plan, and represented a significant over–development of the site. The Department of Roads also had concerns that local roads could not cope with the increased traffic.
“The extensive tree and vegetation clearing required for construction and bushfire protection, including the loss of 673 trees (60 per cent of the trees on site), would have negatively impacted on critical habitat, local flora and fauna, migratory birds and local hydrology,” Ms Maclean said.
“The centre needs to go back to the drawing board and re-think the whole proposal”, she added.
The proposed redevelopment of the Katoomba Christian Convention (KCC) included demolishing the existing auditorium and constructing a new 3,500 seat auditorium. The current 200 seat dining hall/kitchen would have been knocked down and a new 500-seat dining hall built in its place.
Existing accommodation buildings would have been replaced with six eco-lodges and three chalets to provide 390 beds (an increase of 170 beds). A new bookshop and café fronting Violet St was also proposed. It was heard the development would require 973 car parking spaces, whereas the existing peak demand is 473 car parking spaces.
The facility has seven conventions annually, peaking at Easter. In 2017, 3,100 attended the Katoomba Easter Convention (2,200 adults and 910 children) at the 5.3 hectare site.
KCC is the largest conference venue in the Mountains. It was also a staging base for emergency services and community meetings during the 2013 bushfires.
The Christian centre has operated from the site, next to Scenic World, since the 1950s. Under the proposal, lodged in February, KCC executive director Jonathan Dykes planned to bring the “tired”’ facilities up to standard and to meet visitor expectation.
In an ecology report for KCC by Travers Bushfire and Ecology it was heard “the proposed development whilst increasing site usage at certain times of the year, will provide an improved overall bushfire outcome as it will include a comprehensive suite of bushfire protection measures”.
Given the size of the proposed development the Sydney Western City Planning Panel, not Blue Mountains Council, decided on whether the re-development would go ahead or not.
But the plan was voted down 4-1. Chair Justin Doyle wanted the decision deferred, but councillors Mick Fell and Chris Van der Kley and the two other panel members, Bruce McDonald and Nicole Gurran, refused it outright.
Mr Dykes said KCC management are considering their options.
“We’re disappointed. We were willing to be flexible with various aspects of the design and had hoped to work with council and the Rural Fire Service further for a mutually beneficial outcome, but that didn’t happen.’’
Mr Dykes said they would meet with the KCC board and consultants and “consider our options” next year.
“KCC’s development aspirations are responsive to a significant number of local, regional and state strategies for increasing overnight visitation to the area.”
“We’ve been around for nearly 120 years and we plan to be around for the next 120 years,” Mr Dykes said.
