Development Application (DA) Progress
Following on from the October 2025 pre-DA submission, Council Pre-DA Submission meeting in early December and consultation with Council advisors and assessors in January, we were advised in late January that Council required KGC to submit a Biodiversity Development Assessment Report (BDAR) rather than the less complex Flora and Fauna Assessment report that we had planned to submit as part of our DA submission.
The BDAR can only be prepared by accredited consultants and requires thorough surveys of the area to determine the impacts of the proposal. On the advice of the Club’s ecological consultant, it was recommended that the Club proceed with Council’s request to undertake this assessment.
The BDAR will determine whether the amount of native vegetation being cleared exceeds thresholds under the Biodiversity Conservation regulation and whether KGC would be required to enter the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme. This scheme would require us to avoid, mitigate, and/or compensate for biodiversity impacts.
Parts of the KGC lands have remnants of Ku-ring-gai’s critically endangered Blue Gum High Forest trees. Under these trees native weeds and native orchids can germinate and likewise are protected. The trees are located at the far end of the Nursery and Bowling Green lands and beside the practice nets near the Clubhouse.
A BDAR consultant was appointed, whose report is adding an additional 6 weeks to our timeline. This has meant other technical reports had to be delayed to some degree.
Further, on Council’s request a Stormwater Masterplan of the site is being prepared for submission in the DA.
Work is also taking place on the development of a Remedial Action Plan (RAP) following the identification of relatively low-grade contamination in the Detailed Site Investigation and testing conducted in January. A RAP is not normally required for a DA, but we are taking a cautionary approach and preparing a draft document to support the application.
At the recent March Board meeting the Board confirmed it is satisfied with the status of the proposed plans, noting there is still work to undertake on the plans and documents and approved work to finalise the DA Package.
I’m sure you are all keen to see the latest designs of the Clubhouse and facilities. Images of the designs will be placed on display in the Clubhouse from end of March and throughout April for Members to view, question and comment on before the DA Lodgement. Drop-In sessions will be arranged in connection with our standard golfing calendar and will be advertised to Members via the weekly newsletter. Based on advice from our project manager and the various consultants, we expect to be able to lodge the DA in the first week of May, following the April displays and Drop-in sessions.
As previously mentioned, what we will ultimately lodge in the DA will satisfy the Facilities Brief updated by the CRC based on members feedback last year and subsequently approved by the Board. However, it is important to remember that what is ultimately lodged is based on the Club’s preferred optimal design and may contain more than we can afford to build initially or may need to be built in stages depending on funding.
As John Wynne noted in his presentation on planning issues to Members in 2025, it is better to include everything we would want to do if possible, rather than seek to subsequently make additions as the latter requires a new DA or modification of any DA consent and therefore involves more time and cost.
Funding Stream
As reported in January, there are a number of pathways KGC can pursue with respect to the sale of the Club’s Pacific Highways Lands to secure funding for the Clubhouse Project, but the scenario analysis is complex.
As communicated earlier, in December, the Board approved CRC procuring an independent professional Development and Transaction advisory group to support the Group in this high workload, critical evaluation and property development and sales program. In accordance with our procurement principles, an RFP for this advisory work was issued to 4 Property Development and Advisory companies in January. The RFP responses were rated and evaluated and the short-listed companies were interviewed by the Funding Group in February, after which a recommendation was made to the Board to appoint 9Springs. A kick-off meeting was held with 9Springs in early March.
As per the KGC Constitution and advice to Members in March/April 2025, no binding sale of the Pacific Highway lands will be undertaken without holding an EGM for members to vote on any proposed sale to support the future of the Club and its ongoing development to better service the Members’ needs. The timing of an EGM is currently unknown, as there is still much work to be undertaken, but advice on the timing will be provided at the earliest opportunity.
On behalf of the Board, CRC and the DA Control Group, we look forward to seeing you at the Drop-In sessions, sharing the thinking behind the changes and hearing your views on the updated plans.
Sincerely
Patricia Biszewski
Chair Clubhouse Re-development Committee