Residents have overwhelmingly welcomed the unanimous rejection of a proposed flight school for Chinese nationals south of Bega by the Southern Joint Regional Planning Panel.
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The proponent would do well to drop it, and not appeal it.
- Bega MP Andrew Constance
The decision came at the end of a three-hour long meeting at the Bega Valley Commemorative Civic Centre on Thursday, December 13, and three years after it was first proposed by Sports Aviation Flight College Australia after China opened its airways to recreational flying.
“The intensity and subsequent impact of that development are not appropriate for that location,” one panel member said to applause.
She said the zoning of the land permitted the development, but she said that didn’t necessarily mean it was appropriate. Noise impact was also raised as a reason for considering the inappropriateness of the development at this location.
On Monday, Bega MP Andrew Constance, who spoke at last week’s public meeting, said the development’s lack of an appropriate “social impact statement” left the application looking akin to “Swiss cheese”.
“This is an ill-conceived proposal, and not in keeping with the area. I’m very, very pleased, and think the decision is entirely appropriate,” he said.
“The poor residents have had to put up with this long enough.”
Frogs Hollow resident Steve Jackson, who also spoke during last week’s meeting, said the proposed development has affected nearby property owners, and there was a shared “sense of relief” when it was rejected by the panel.
“There’s people I know who’ve put their lives on hold for two years and they are relieved,” the 53-year-old said.
“A couple have put their house on the market at $100,000 less than they wanted and were thinking of taking it despite it being their forever home.”
Sports Aviation Flight College Australia’s corporate consultant Norm Boyle, who claims to have received what he describes as “anonymous hate mail” during the application process, said the company would release a public statement on Friday.
Mr Boyle said the company needs time to consider its “positions and options”, which Mr Constance and Mr Jackson say may include an appeal to the NSW Land and Environment Court.
“The proponent would do well to drop it, and not appeal it,” Mr Constance said.
