Court Refuses 667-Lot Estate Plan at North Lismore

A planned housing estate in North Lismore is facing a major hurdle after the NSW Land and Environment Court doubled down on a refusal centred around Aboriginal cultural heritage impact. Mackycorp’s 667-lot housing estate planned for the North Lismore Plateau, 1.3km from the Lismore city centre, has been in the works since 2021. The developer behind Liverpool Quarter in Western Sydney plans to develop the housing estate, dubbed Allura Parklands, as well as two commercial lots, public reserves and new road infrastructure. The site west of Dunoon Road comprises 18 land parcels with a combined area of 126.11ha, which would be cleared to make way for the development. However, the Northern Regional Planning Panel refused the plans in December 2022, and Mackycorp has since sought to overturn the decision. In the interim and after various amendments to proposals, the Lismore City Council, which had initially raised contentions including Aboriginal cultural heritage, traffic, biodiversity, bushfire risk and a number of other issues, no longer objected to the plans. Despite this change of heart by the council, it remained listed as a defendant and the court added another respondent to the case, Traditional Custodian representative Michael Ryan, who did contest the development. The LEC’s focus was on the Aboriginal cultural heritage impact of the development. The court focused on whether meaningful and adequate consultation had been undertaken with Aboriginal peoples, especially recognised Elders and knowledge holders. ▲ An image of the North Lismore site on the RCS Group website. It has provided town planning, civil design and surveying services for the scheme. Court commissioner Peter Walsh, who presided over the case, said that there was “potential to bring about serious impacts in relation to Aboriginal cultural heritage significance”. Four high-significance Aboriginal sites were identified, including two water springs, one of which was associated with women’s birthing practices; a carved tree and a potential burial site. While all were within the confines of a disused quarry in a section zoned for environmental conservation, the court also highlighted the importance of the wider landscape to Aboriginal heritage. The LEC acknowledged that Mackycorp had tried to meet procedural consultation standards. It had developed multiple iterations of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Assessment Report, archaeological testing and the preparation of a cultural heritage management plan. However, the court made it clear that Aboriginal consultation was not satisfied by procedural compliance alone. ▲ The predominantly agricultural land is not on a floodplain and was rezoned for residential. Commissioner Walsh reiterated that it must be an “open and honest two-way communication process” that meaningfully informs the assessment of cultural significance and impact. In his ruling, Walsh said that the deficiencies in the consultation process “bring an unacceptable risk that this subdivision would impact adversely on people of the Bundjalung nation”. The LEC dismissed the appeal and ruled that the subdivision could not proceed in its current form. But while the outcome was not what was hoped for, the LEC did say there were some key positives to the project. The court highlighted the development’s proposal to conserve threatened endemic species and rehabilitation of native plant life. The court found that, given its proximity to the Lismore CBD, the development had the potential to rejuvenate the area affected by the 2022 floods and to supply additional housing to the wider area. Its proximity to Lismore CBD and potential for rejuvenation after the floods that impacted the Northern Rivers, the court found, and there was a “general benefit of additional housing supply in the wider area”. Mackycorp told The Urban Developer it was considering its strategy in light of the ruling.

Court Refuses 667-Lot Estate Plan at North Lismore

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