At this stage the development is neither refused or approved after Bega Valley Shire councillors agreed to workshop the proposal with options to come back to council.

Councillors wanted to see if there were other options for the hotel apart from the proposed Main Street location. This includes looking at any alternative locations that could accommodate the height increase from 16metres to 26metres and taking account of feedback from Club Sapphire and its planning team.

The alternative was to go with the council staff recommendation which was to refuse approval.

Three councillors were keen to see the development approved, the mayor Russell Fitzpatrick, councillors Tony Allen and David Porter.

In the 115 submissions received community members said that while they were not against the idea of a conference hotel, many were against the bulk of the seven-storey proposal.

In December 2022 CEO at Club Sapphire Damien Foley said a concept DA for the hotel had been placed with council.

The plan was to investigate what height limits were possible. The maximum on the Club Sapphire site was 16metres but hotel groups, the club was talking to, said it needed to be higher, possibly 26metres - to accommodate the number of rooms and make the development viable.

In June 2023, the plan was sent to NSW Planning for gateway approval, after councillors voted unanimously for gateway determination despite council staff recommending against it.

The planning proposal sought approval for an increase to the existing height limit on the site from 16metres to 26metres under the site specific clause, which allowed a review for sites over 2000square metres, in certain zones.

NSW Planning offered no objections and referred the matter back to council and the plan was put on exhibition.

In the meantime the clock has been ticking on the NSW gateway approval which runs out in May.

As part of councillor Karen Wright's motion at the council meeting March 20, council was asked to consider a further report outlining any proposed amendments prior to submitting an amended planning proposal to the Minister of Planning and Public Spaces for consideration, including a request to extend the gateway determination timeframe.

Equally important was the recommendation as part of Cr Wright's motion, that councillors consider allocating resources for a review of building heights and design guidelines for Merimbula during financial year 2025.

Design guidelines would help direct developers to build according to the Merimbula style and palette and provide a more unified design and look for the town, something which has been sadly missing.

Crs Griff, O'Neil, Seckold and Wright voted in favour, Crs Fitzpatrick, Allen and Porter voted against with Crs Nadin and Robin absent.