Wesfarmers is not giving up on getting the relevant approval for the site it owns on the corner of Tura Beach Drive and Sapphire Coast Drive and still plans to seek approval for a Bunnings warehouse on the site.
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Bunnings general manager property Andrew Marks, told Fairfax Media the company was still pursuing the matter.
“We can confirm we have re-submitted our proposed zoning application with Bega Valley Shire Council,” Mr Marks said.
“We remain committed to working with the relevant authorities to obtain development approval and bring a new Bunnings warehouse to the Merimbula and Tura Beach area,” he added.
Despite council’s support for rezoning the site from 1C Rural Small Holdings to a B5 Business Development Zone on two occasions, NSW Planning refused saying it would not fit in with the “village” community of Tura and that any such development was better suited to Bega.
Some of the rezoning issues came about because the strategic plan for the area was last published in 2006 when Tura Beach was far smaller.
In its last bid for approval Wesfarmers, the owners of Bunnings, asked for a gateway review by the Southern Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP), of the NSW Planning decision.
In February the JRPP refused the application to rezone the two parcels of land purchased by Wesfarmers, to a B5 zone, to allow bulky goods or other retailing uses.
The five person panel included councillors Jo Dodds and Robyn Bain. Although the panel unanimously agreed that the proposal should not proceed, it recommended that the site be rezoned to R5, something council staff had suggested a couple of years ago.
This zoning would still allow a small format Bunnings to be built, subject to height restrictions and building footprint. Now Wesfarmers is pursuing the recommended course of action by reapplying to council to have the two blocks rezoned as R5, with council expected to update commercial/business zone information in the shire.
