Sleepy seaside village Forster split over tower proposal above existing height limits
Gary Gersbach has lived in Forster, a sleepy seaside town about two hours north of Newcastle, since the 1980s and remembers a time when it had tourism and fishing going for it – and not much else.
When he first visited as a child in the 1950s, the town about 300 kilometres north of Sydney had no running water, sewerage or the bridge that brings in thousands of visitors into the less popular neighbouring town of Tuncurry every year.
Much has changed since Mr Gersbach arrived and the town is no stranger to development, with several apartment buildings already dotting the coastline after it became a popular holiday spot and a retirement village.
But a newly approved project has divided the town, drawing the ire of some and creating cautious enthusiasm among others.
The mid-north coast council approved a 12-storey residential development of 52 units in early October after the project’s proponent sought a 10.4-metre, or three storeys, height variation to the maximum 30-metre standards applying to the site.
But Mr Gersbach, the president of the local chamber of commerce, says the town needs to continue evolving in order to survive.
“Once people arrive here, they want to shut the gate behind them. We’ve got to get past that mentality,” he said. “The place has got to develop. Our younger population is growing, we want to develop more jobs so our kids can get more work.”
The Taree-based mayor, David West, said the decision to approve the development application was based on merits and whether it was “the use or abuse of land”.
Cr Ward said it was appropriate because the building site was the gateway to Forster, which is quickly becoming popular for those wanting a sea change, and it was not just a tourist destination.
He said given that development land was “so constrained because of national parks, swamps and the lakes, we have a responsibility to use the land to the best of our availability”.
But former mayor and Forster-based councillor Jan McWilliams, who voted against the development, believed it was the thin end of the wedge, giving at least four other DAs in the vicinity the green light to also apply for similar height variations.
“We have had an area marked out for high rise and that is what we have stuck to. We’ve never varied from it. It’s right on the water and it is the best spot in town,” she said.
The feeling among the community is developments like these could bring short-term benefits to the local economy at the cost of the natural environment in the long run.
Local resident and president of the Midcoast Environment Group Ariel Johnson said the development set a dangerous precedent for the town.
“[Forster’s] got a village feel but they’re trying to turn it into Surfers Paradise,” she said.
“It should be an icon right next to the bridge, looking across Tuncurry but to me [this development] is just an eyesore – that is just one big monolith.”
Selling agent Ross Andrews of First National Forster-Tuncurry conceded the height variation was “over the top” but the town needed more development in general.
“The problem is if we don’t do this, it’s going to turn into a retirement village and become stagnant rather than a vibrant, cosmopolitan area,” he said.
Mr Gersbach said most business owners were excited at the prospect of more development and while the main street had some character, it was not enough to keep people walking through the doors all year round.
Bryce Morley, the general manager of Wakefield Ashurst Developments which bought the site in 2017 for $4.4 million and will be developing the project, said the DA approval was a “victory in itself”.
Mr Morley said the height variation was a trade-off with council since it did not want the entire block utilised in the first instance.
“If this was another developer they may have chosen to increase the yield by utilising more of the ground space. They’ve left a bit more space on ground and the trade-off is the extra height variation.”
