This submission is in relation to the proposed residential apartments proposed for the beachfront on Sanderling Ave, Hawks Nest.
I object to this proposal for the following reasons:
• Its scale, with 104 units, is out of proportion to the built environment of the local area. It is a high-density multi-storey development on the edge of the beachfront, with no other multi-storey developments or apartment blocks in the area.
• In holiday periods there could be as many as 400-500 people residing in the apartments. Existing infrastructure is already inadequate for holiday periods, and this development will make a bad situation worse.
• The development is too close to the beach and just behind the sand dunes. Sand dunes are not stationary landforms and will be eroded away or move as sea levels rise as they are forecast to. A development of this scale in such a sensitive coastal position is just a recipe for future problems and unnecessary expenses.
• The Coastal Risk Assessment report for the development is out of date – it was completed six years ago in June 2020, and climate change and sea level forecasts have changed since then. The proposal should be rejected because this report is out of date and it is not based on the latest forecasts for climate change induced sea level rise.
• The development is far too tall and bulky and will dominate the local natural environment. The maximum height of the proposed roof is15.25m. The permitted level in the LEP is 12m with 13.2m allowed if there is a lift. The HDA advise they will accept 14.5m and then the developer wants even a higher roof. All this sounds like a developer pushing the boundaries to make more profit, not good design in a sensitive area.
• The buildings could be visible from the beach, especially from the northeast. The beach is a wonderful untouched landscape with no visible infrastructure for many kilometres north of the surf lifesaving club.
• Buildings on the Gold Coast in a similar proximity to the beach have problems with basement drainage. The basement is RL2.5 AHD. Even without a sea level rise, the basement will be at risk of flooding.
• The development will not help with the housing crisis. There is a large, approved development in Tea Gardens (Parry’s Cove) and a manufactured home development in Tea Gardens under assessment, both of which could cope with any increased housing needs. The selling price of these units will be far too high to help with the housing crisis. It is most likely that this development will be mostly used as holiday homes and for short-term rentals.
• The fact that the developer wants to build the development in stages indicates that there is not an existing market for such a large development.
• If approved, there should be a time limit on completing the whole development, rather than leaving it as an uncompleted zombie development.

The Board & Management of Hawks Nest Golf Club believe the proposed Residential Flat Buildings at Sanderling Avenue represent a positive and appropriate development outcome for the area.
The development will:
• Support the local economy;
• Make efficient use of serviced land;
• Contribute positively to the streetscape and community;
• Increase housing choice and supply; and
• Align with contemporary planning objectives.
For these reasons, we respectfully support the application and encourage the Planning Minister to approve the proposal.

This submission supports the Sanderling Avenue Residential Flat Buildings proposal (SSD-82066472) based on its superior architectural design, considered traffic management, much needed boast to the towns commercial enterprises and employment opportunities for younger semi-skilled local workers PLUS a significant contribution to alleviating regional and NSW housing shortages.

Supporting Submission: Sanderling Avenue Residential Flat Buildings
To: NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure
Project: Sanderling Avenue Residential Flat Buildings (SSD-82066472)
________________________________________
1. Exceptional Architectural Merit: Bulk and Size
• Design Excellence: The proposal showcases high-quality architectural design that harmonizes with the coastal landscape, utilizing modern materials and finishes that enhance the aesthetic of the Hawks Nest area. Conceptually, the gently curved and softened built form was inspired by the site's surrounding Hawks Nest coastal environment; the sand dunes, Yacaaba Headland and the immediate shoreline.

• Thoughtful Massing: The bulk and size of the buildings have been carefully designed using well defined and aged architectural principles , with the four-storey structures designed to create a "stepping" effect, significantly reducing the visual impact from the local street levels ,I.E Sanderling Avenue , Tuloa Avenue, Booner and Yamba Streets, plus the wide expanse of the adjoining golf course, compared to the existing block-style developments that in part dominate Hawks Nest . A number of these existing block style developments are visible from the Hawks Nest surf beach.
• This project is clearly shown, in the attached documents and renders ..see APPENDIX 10 - Landscape & Visual Impact Assessment to NOT be beach visible.

• Site Integration: The development is designed to integrate with the neighbouring golf club and golf course rather than dominating it, providing a high-quality, resort-style aesthetic that increases the value of the surrounding area as well as supporting the commercial job producing activities with the golf clubhouse.
•
2. Minimal Traffic and Infrastructure Impact
• Contextual Traffic Growth: While representing a significant increase in local density, the 104 apartments with their potential slightly older demographic occupiers are expected to generate low peak-hour traffic additions, aligning with expected infrastructure capacity and mitigating high-density bottlenecks.

• Strategic Location: The location on Sanderling Avenue allows residents to access the golf course and local beach without needing to utilize the main town traffic routes, reducing the overall trip frequency. The Golf Club House offers a number of visitor hospitality amenities such as a 7-day bar, coffee shop and restaurant

• Improved Parking Infrastructure: The proposal includes significant upgrades to the adjacent Hawks Nest Golf Club carpark, providing a net positive to parking infrastructure for the wider community.

3. Impact on Existing Hawks Nest Infrastructure

• The Hawks Nest Sewage Treatment Plant multimillion dollar upgrade is due for completion mid-2027 , significantly increasing the treatments plants capacity to support the anticipated Hawks Nest/Tea Gardens housing growth.
• Secondly the Hawks Nest/Tea Gardens water treatment works, and electricity supply substation have , within the past 15 years been upgraded to handle anticipated 40+ year population growth in both towns


4. Easing the Housing Shortage
• Increased Housing Supply: The 104 apartment units offer much-needed, high-quality diverse housing options in a region with limited supply.

• Local Demographic Shift: Many of these apartments are likely to be purchased by permanent residents (including downsizers from the local area), allowing them to vacate larger existing homes.

• "Filter Down" Housing Effect: By freeing up existing dwellings , the project assists in easing the critical housing shortage for families and newcomers elsewhere both in the MidCoast and general NSW community.

5. Enhance local liveability: The Sanderling Hawks Nest project will significantly enhance local liveability, offering a vital and much needed economic and social boost at a critical time for our Hawks Nest community. While the recent closures of the local newsagent, marine centre, and women's dress shop underscore the urgent challenges facing our village, this proposal acts as a direct countermeasure to further decline. Instead of detracting from the town, the project introduces fresh investment, revitalises public spaces, and stimulates commercial activity. By creating new jobs and gathering spaces, it directly addresses current economic vulnerabilities and strengthens the social fabric of Hawks Nest for residents and visitors alike.

________________________________________
Conclusion
The Sanderling Avenue proposal is an exceptionally designed development that offers a necessary solution to local ,regional and statewide housing demands while adhering to high architectural standards with absolute minimal environment impacts , minimum existing infrastructure, or traffic impacts to the existing 1800+ dwelling Hawks Nest town. Boosting the local economy and ongoing employment opportunities particularly for semi-skilled younger local workers.

I write in objection to the proposed ‘State Significant Development’ (SSD) at the Sanderling Avenue site, Hawks Nest. I am a resident of Hawks Nest who also currently holds position as a democratically elected Councillor with MidCoast Council. My main reasons for objection are as follows:
1. “Housing Crisis” excuse is invalid:
This project will not make any helpful contribution to easing the 'housing crisis' in NSW, mainly due to the fact that the domiciles to be constructed will not be any more affordable that those currently on the market, and will not be sold for any less than the going market price. As the State Government currently lacks any capacity to directly regulate housing prices (rental or purchase), the default strategy has been to increase supply. In Hawks Nest, the added number of high-cost, luxury beachfront residences that this project seeks to create will not enter the real estate market any lower than market value, and will also not apply any other downward pressure on real estate elsewhere. Any claim such as “house owners will downsize to the new units, freeing houses on the existing market” may be conceivable, but whatever housing is left upon the local market (let alone across the state), will not become even remotely more affordable. An ‘offset’ concept elsewhere will exert no real change on the local market, either.
2. Not in keeping with local character:
The Sanderling Avenue project, if approved and built, will have buildings up to and over the typically regulated height of a four-storey edifice. No such buildings exist anywhere nearby, making this resort-style luxury complex utterly out of character for the local area. The site of the proposed development is environmentally sensitive coastal bushland very close to an ocean beach. This concept raises multiple legitimate environmental concerns that MidCoast Council and many other submissions would have made perfectly clear. None of the local residents’ concerns have been adequately addressed, no serious local input has been sought nor considered, and none of the true local impacts have been properly assessed. Part of the proof for this is in the fact that this very submission period had to be extended from the bare minimum of 14 days to 28 days, at the direct behest of local residents and groups.
3. Local economic impact:
While the Sanderling Avenue project may bring limited short-term work to local tradespeople during construction, there is no enforceable guarantee that local tradespeople will be directly involved. Further, the only realistically foreseeable jobs this project might create, longer-term, would largely be hospitality and service jobs, making no difference to the existing extreme seasonality of the local economy. There is also no reason to believe that permanent residents of this development would spend any more at existing local businesses, even at the adjacent Hawks Nest Golf Club, due to the very likely insular nature of the proposed domiciles, and the limited, protracted take-up of the domiciles themselves, potentially leaving the area with a white-elephant edifice that brings nothing of extra value to the area. A concern regarding the overlap of land boundaries has also arisen, with the potential to cut off the Golf Club from its main supply delivery route as a small but significant portion of the development’s land currently overlaps that route, perhaps forcing acceptance.
4. Severe traffic concerns:
This proposed Sanderling Avenue development, if approved, will increase local traffic radically beyond current or manageable levels. Sanderling Avenue itself has no line markings, kerbs, nor gutters, and two-way passing traffic is already problematic. The avenue is very close to the singular intersection that brings traffic into town from the bridge, meaning that any traffic problems along Sanderling Avenue could very quickly back up onto the bridge itself, snarling up traffic into the rest of Hawks Nest. No proper nor appropriate traffic management plan has been produced. Traffic studies done thus far have been perfunctory and tokenistic, and not at all considered the busiest times of the year, nor of the day, and in no way accounting for the fact that in peak holiday periods the area’s population quadruples. Even significant upgrades to the surrounding local roads will quickly prove fruitless, as these roads are simply too small to accommodate the exacerbated traffic resultant if even a fraction of the new domiciles at this location become inhabited. Any given unit could easily require several car spaces, but there is simply not enough room on the site. Any proposal for underground parking at the site will immediately prove woefully inadequate, and parking will likely overflow into the Golf Club’s carpark, or down Sanderling Avenue, further constricting that roadway.
5. Not in keeping with the purpose of ‘State Significant’:
This project has made it onto the SSD list by way of technicalities, including the overall value of the project, and the number of alleged ‘domiciles’ it will create. The SSD concept was originally conceived to expedite affordable living situations for citizens of NSW, not to expedite luxury beachfront accommodation projects such as this one. Being strategically located at easy walking distance between an 18-hole golf course and an ocean beachfront, this project cannot objectively be considered to fit into the purpose of the SSD process. There is no reason to believe that young families, workers, nor anyone other than the relatively well-off could buy into the development. I am aware that MidCoast Council has extreme reservations about the validity of this Sanderling Avenue development for many reasons, more than enough for Council to have to decline it, were it to be presented as an appropriate Development Application (DA) to Council. As such, should this project be passed by the SSD process, it will set the bar for any and all future such projects to leapfrog local Councils and get luxury developments approved anywhere and everywhere in the state.

This project is NOT a State significant development. There is no supporting infrastructure in transport, medical, educational or retail. It will never be permanent housing if apartment owners choose to short term rent to take advantage of the golf course next door. It is not affordable housing with price ranges from $1.5 million for a studio apartment to $5.2 million for a penthouse. Please see my attached submission in full. Thank you.

FORMAL OBJECTION — PUBLIC SUBMISSION
Sanderling Avenue Residential Flat Buildings, Hawks Nest
Application No: SSD-82066472 | State Significant Development
Submitted to: Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (NSW)
Submitted by: Jonathon Hainsworth, 71 Merewether Street, Merewether, NSW, 2291
Date: 17 May 2026

Introduction

I object in the strongest possible terms to Development Application SSD-82066472. My family and I have been visiting Hawks Nest for more than 20 years. Our family holidays at Bennetts Beach are deeply valued, and the native flora and fauna of this area are central to what makes Hawks Nest special. What is being proposed is simply overdevelopment — entirely out of character with the village — and it cannot proceed. This coastal location must be preserved for future generations, including my children and grandchildren who use Bennetts Beach regularly.

1. Destruction of Village Character and Visual Impact

The proposal comprises three four-storey buildings reaching 15.25 metres in height. This is a 27% breach of the 12-metre Local Environmental Plan height limit applicable to the R3 zone. The Hawks Nest Development Control Plan Section 3 Character Statement explicitly requires that buildings remain "below the canopy" and maintain the area's "bushland character." This development does the opposite.

At a Pre-DA meeting on 20 December 2022, MidCoast Council officers advised Core Property Developments and Leric Group that the proposal was "too big and dominant for the location." The developers proceeded regardless. The applicant's architect now claims the development "sits comfortably within its surroundings" — a claim that is not credible and must be independently verified.

The Department's own Visual Impact Assessment Guidelines require independent peer review of photomontage analysis. Views from Bennetts Beach, Hawks Nest Golf Club, and the caravan park will be severely impacted by three bulky structures that tower above the existing canopy. Under s4.15(1)(b) of the *Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979*, the Department is required to undertake independent analysis of visual impact.

I request that the Department's Assessment Report explicitly address:
- Whether the 27% height breach is acceptable in this sensitive coastal village context;
- The adequacy and independence of visual impact assessment, including peer review of photomontages;
- Whether the development is consistent with the Hawks Nest DCP Character Statement requirement to remain "below the canopy."

2. Environmental Destruction and Threatened Species

The development will result in the permanent clearing of 1.3 hectares of native coastal vegetation. The applicant's own Flora and Fauna Assessment identifies at least four threatened fauna species on site. My family and I treasure this bushland and the wildlife it supports — it is irreplaceable.

The Department must rigorously assess compliance with the *Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016*, including whether Biodiversity Development Assessment Report (BDAR) offsets are genuinely equivalent. Coastal ecosystems are fragile and cannot be offset by land elsewhere. The Department must also assess compliance with the *State Environmental Planning Policy (Koala Habitat Protection) 2021* and the *State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021* (the Coastal SEPP), both of which impose non-discretionary obligations on coastal zone development.

I request that the Department's Assessment Report explicitly address:
- Whether biodiversity offsets proposed are genuinely equivalent to 1.3 hectares of coastal vegetation;
- Compliance with the Coastal SEPP and Koala Habitat SEPP;
- Cumulative biodiversity impact on the broader coastal ecosystem.

3. Infrastructure Inadequacy and Traffic Impact

The application itself acknowledges that a new sewer pumping station must be built to service the development. This is an admission that existing infrastructure is incapable of supporting 104 new dwellings without significant new public works funded by taxpayers.

Hawks Nest has a constrained road network already at capacity during peak tourist periods. The addition of 104 dwellings will generate substantial ongoing vehicle movements. Construction traffic near a heavily-used family beach presents safety concerns. No independent traffic impact assessment or peer review has been provided. The Department must require assessment of current and post-development Level of Service on Sanderling Avenue, construction traffic management, and emergency access for a four-storey development with limited road access points.

I request that the Department's Assessment Report explicitly address:
- Whether existing road and sewer infrastructure can support this development without significant public investment;
- Independent traffic impact assessment and peer review, including Level of Service analysis.

4. Misleading Housing Claims and Probity Concerns

The applicant justifies this development as addressing housing need. This is misleading. Hawks Nest has minimal medical services, no banking, and limited public transport. Purchase prices will be well beyond first-home buyers. Existing medium-density developments in Hawks Nest show very few dwellings are permanently occupied. There is no binding mechanism to prevent conversion to short-term holiday letting.

Furthermore, the ABC *Four Corners* program "Obeid Inc" (November 2021) examined alleged links between this development and the Obeid family through Leric Group director Merwin Ibrahim. The land was purchased from the Karuah Local Aboriginal Land Council in 2016 for $1.5 million — reportedly double its valuation — when the council was in financial difficulty. The site was then zoned RE1 Public Recreation. It was rezoned to R3 Medium Density Residential by MidCoast Council in April 2021. Under s4.15(1)(e) of the *EP&A Act 1979*, the Department must consider the public interest, including process integrity.

I request that the Department's Assessment Report explicitly address:
- Whether a binding covenant restricting use to long-term residential occupancy will be required;
- The publicly raised probity questions concerning rezoning and land acquisition history.

5. Inappropriate Use of Housing Delivery Authority Fast-Track Pathway

This development was classified as State Significant Development following Housing Delivery Authority recommendation, removing MidCoast Council as consent authority and compressing the exhibition period to 14 days (extended only after community complaint). Hawks Nest is not "well-located" for intensive residential development — it is a small coastal village with constrained infrastructure and sensitive coastal land. The procedural use of this pathway is inappropriate and contrary to the public interest.

I greatly appreciate your time and consideration.

I write to formally object to the above State Significant Development application (SSD82066472) for the construction of three residential flat buildings on Sanderling Avenue, Hawks Nest, in the MidCoast Local Government Area.
My connection to this land is deep and longstanding. Hawks Nest and the Sanderling Avenue foreshore are places I have cherished across generations. My children and extended family play on Bennetts Beach, within direct eyeline of this site. I know this environment not as an abstraction on a planning map, but as a living sensitive coastal ecosystem the vegetation, the dunes, the beach, the community character that has made Hawks Nest irreplaceable.
I object on the following substantive grounds, each of which I ask the Department to address explicitly and in writing in its Assessment Report pursuant to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act):
• The inadequacy of the public exhibition period and the failure of genuine community consultation
• Serious and unresolved environmental impacts on sensitive coastal land
• Adverse visual amenity impacts incompatible with the character of Hawks Nest
• Unacceptable traffic and infrastructure impacts on an undercapacity local road and services network
• Fundamental questions about the probity and history of this site and its development proponents
• The inappropriate use of the Housing Delivery Authority fast track pathway for this site


2. Inadequacy of the Public Exhibition Period
The exhibition period for this application ran for only 14 days, from 1 May to 14 May 2026. I submit that this period is wholly inadequate for a development of this scale, sensitivity and community controversy, and that any determination made on the basis of this exhibition would be procedurally vulnerable.
Strategic Note for the Department:
The EP&A Act and the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 contemplate that the exhibition period must provide a genuine and meaningful opportunity for community participation. A 14day window for a 1.4hectare, four storey, 104dwelling development on nationally controversial coastal land in a community where many residents are elderly or seasonal visitors cannot satisfy this requirement. A truncated exhibition that forecloses substantive engagement is itself a ground of legal challenge to any approval.

This site has attracted national media attention since at least 2021, including a dedicated ABC Four Corners investigation. Thousands of community members have signed petitions opposing the development over several years. The 14 day window compressed further by the fact that it fell across a public holiday period is inconsistent with the level of public interest this application has generated.
I ask the Department to confirm that the exhibition period has been extended, or alternatively to acknowledge and address this procedural deficiency in the Assessment Report.

3. Environmental Impacts on Sensitive Coastal Land
3.1 The Site's Ecological Status
The 1.4hectare site on Sanderling Avenue is described in the application documents as a currently vegetated lot. It sits between Bennetts Beach one of the most beautiful and undeveloped beaches on the NSW Mid North Coast and the Hawks Nest Golf Club. This is not an infill site in an urban precinct. It is sensitive coastal land.
Strategic Note for the Department:
The State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021 (the Coastal SEPP) imposes specific and nondiscretionary obligations on the consent authority when considering development in the coastal zone. The Department must demonstrate in its Assessment Report that it has rigorously applied the Coastal SEPP, including provisions relating to coastal hazard, sea level rise, visual impact from the sea and foreshore, and the protection of native vegetation in coastal areas. Failure to address these provisions is a legal error.

3.2 Vegetation Clearing
The site is described as a vegetated lot. The complete clearing of native coastal vegetation to make way for basement excavation and construction will result in irreversible loss of habitat. The EIS must demonstrate full compliance with the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, including whether a Biodiversity Development Assessment Report (BDAR) has been prepared and whether any biodiversity offsets are adequate.
I am not satisfied that the EIS, as exhibited, sufficiently addresses the cumulative biodiversity impact of this clearing in the context of the broader coastal ecosystem between Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest.
3.3 Coastal Hazard and Sea Level Rise
The site is in close proximity to Bennetts Beach and is subject to coastal processes including storm surge, beach erosion and the projected effects of sea level rise. I ask the Department to confirm:
• Whether a site specific coastal hazard assessment has been prepared and independently peer reviewed
• Whether the design of basement parking below natural ground level in a coastal zone is appropriate given long term inundation risk
• Whether the NSW Coastal Management Framework and Coastal Management SEPP requirements have been fully satisfied

3.4 Sewer Infrastructure
The application acknowledges the need for a new sewer pumping station to be constructed and handed over to Mid Coast Council. This is an admission that existing infrastructure is incapable of servicing this development without significant new works. I submit that the adequacy of existing water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure to service 104 dwellings on this site and the financial and environmental implications of the required upgrades has not been adequately addressed in the exhibited material.

4. Visual Amenity and Character of Hawks Nest
Hawks Nest is a small, low scale coastal village. Its character and its enduring value to residents, visitors and the local economy derives precisely from its unspoilt natural setting. Three four storey apartment buildings on the narrow strip of coastal land between the beach and the golf club would fundamentally and irreversibly alter this character.
The development proponents have claimed that the development will not be visible from the beach. I reject this claim and ask that it be independently verified. The site sits at the edge of Bennetts Beach. The visual catchment of four storey buildings in this setting will extend to the beach, to the water and to surrounding properties. The EIS must include rigorous photomontage analysis prepared and peer reviewed in accordance with the Department's own guidelines.
Strategic Note for the Department:
Section 4.15(1)(b) of the EP&A Act requires consideration of the likely impacts of the development, including visual impact. The Department's Assessment Report must contain an independent analysis of visual impact — not merely a summary of the applicant's own claims. Where the consent authority has adopted the applicant's visual assessment without independent review, this has been identified in appeal decisions as a failure of the assessment process.

I also note that the proposed development is marketed as providing housing for permanent residents. However, the R3 Medium Density Residential zoning under the Mid Coast LEP does not preclude use of these apartments as shortterm tourist accommodation. There is no binding mechanism in the exhibited application to prevent conversion to holiday letting, which would deliver none of the permanent housing outcomes cited in support of the application.

5. Traffic and Infrastructure Impacts
Hawks Nest is served by a limited road network that is already under strain during peak tourist periods. The addition of 104 residential dwellings with the vehicle movements associated with residents, visitors and service vehicles will place unacceptable additional load on Sanderling Avenue and the surrounding network.
I request the Department to provide specific responses to the following in its Assessment Report:
• What independent traffic impact assessment has been undertaken, and has it been peer reviewed by a suitably qualified independent traffic engineer?
• What is the current Level of Service on Sanderling Avenue and the intersection points with the broader road network, and what will it be post development?
• How will construction traffic be managed, given the proximity of the site to a beach used heavily by families, including young children?
• What emergency access arrangements are proposed for a four storey development on a coastal site with a single road access point?
• Have the cumulative traffic impacts of this development combined with other approved and proposed developments in the Hawks Nest area been assessed?


6. History, Probity and Community Confidence
I raise the following historical matters not to make legal determinations, but because they are directly relevant to community confidence in the integrity of the development process and the appropriateness of this site for development.
In November 2021, ABC's Four Corners broadcast a national investigation 'Obeid Inc' which examined alleged links between the Obeid family (whose patriarch Eddie Obeid is a convicted corrupt politician) and this development, including through Leric Group Pty Ltd, whose director Merwin Ibrahim was described as a key figure in the Obeids' coastal property interests. The Leric Group director denied involvement with the Obeid family.
The land was purchased from the Karuah Local Aboriginal Land Council in 2016 for $1.5 million reportedly double the land's valuation when the land council was in financial difficulty. The site at that time was zoned RE1 Public Recreation. The zoning was subsequently changed to R3 Medium Density Residential by MidCoast Council in April 2021, enabling this development to proceed.
### Please note I have exceeded the word count, see attached doc for the rest of my submission###