Ballina Growth Push Prompts $69.5m Superlot Subdivision
Ballina Shire’s biggest new land release in years has been put forward, proposing more than 230 homes under a $69.5-million subdivision.
The coastal region, on the NSW North Coast south of Byron Bay, is a key growth area for the Northern Rivers region.
The proposal filed with the Ballina Shire Council covers 16ha off Ross Lane at Kinvara, inland from Lennox Head (pictured above).
It comprised 233 residential lots, four superlots for a future mixed-use village centre, new roads, public parks, drainage reserves and a water reservoir.
Prepared by Barker Ryan Stewart for Lennox Head Development Corporation, the application is the first stage of a long-planned urban expansion about 6km west of Lennox Head and 14km north of Ballina.
If approved, the project would open the next phase of the region’s northern growth corridor, establishing roads, trunk infrastructure and environmental works to support future residential development.
The subdivision forms part of a 334ha area known as the Cumbalum Urban Release Area, identified by the NSW Government and Ballina Shire Council in 1995 to accommodate long-term housing demand.
The land was rezoned for urban development in 2014 under a planning agreement outlining infrastructure delivery across the precinct.
The project involves moving about 1.1 million cubic metres of earth on site to level the land, with no soil brought in or taken away.
Six existing homes and a dairy bale across Dufficys and Scanlan lanes would be demolished.
Four superlots would be retained for a future mixed-use village centre.
Concept plans show a small supermarket, cafes and restaurants, gym, healthcare, childcare and workplace services.
The commercial component would be subject to a separate application.
The 233 residential lots range from 450sq m to 1954sq m, with a mix of single-home, multi-home, large hillside and superlots for later subdivision.
Infrastructure works would include a new entry roundabout to Ross Lane, collector roads, stormwater drainage, sewer mains, a pump station and a temporary water reservoir.
The network would also include recycled water services and sediment controls.
The subdivision would be delivered in five sub-stages.
Civil works across later sub-stages would run from months 12 to 40, with home construction continuing to month 60. The first residents could move in around month 28.
Vegetation management forms a major component of the application.
The proposal involves clearing 85ha of native vegetation, followed by staged rehabilitation over three to four years.
Two rehabilitation programs are scheduled to begin within three and four years of approval.
The site adjoins Ballina Nature Reserve and contains nine recorded Aboriginal heritage sites, including one area of high cultural significance to be protected as a Keeping Place and Cultural Centre under a Heritage Management Plan.
European heritage features—including drystone walls dating to the 1880s—would be retained outside the development footprint.
The Ballina Shire Council amended its Development Control Plan in August 2024 to realign the precinct’s road network, relocate drainage basins and reposition the village centre to a more central location.
The changes cleared the way for this first-stage application.
The Statement of Environmental Effects lodged with the application said the project “will provide additional housing opportunities for the community” and “represents rational, orderly, economic and sustainable use of the land”.
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