Sensitive Point

Newcastle Herald

Saturday January 10, 2009

Damon Cronshaw

THE biggest marina in the state is set to be built in Lake Macquarie, but not everyone is happy about it.

At Morisset Park on the shores of south-west Lake Macquarie, prominent developer Keith Johnson wants to build a major tourist development, including a marina.

Key elements of the $200 million Trinity Point plan include 308 marina berths, a helipad, 75 tourist apartments and 75 residential apartments in two- to six-storey buildings, a 300-seat conference centre and a 200-seat restaurant.

Whatever Johnson does, he does it big. He's the biggest developer in town, with a strong network of contacts in government and political circles.

But his Trinity Point marina plan has upset residents who fear their peace and tranquillity will be disrupted. While Johnson's influence will be crucial to the outcome, residents are not his only opponents.

Lake Macquarie's most high-profile politician, Greg Piper, is against the plan. Piper, who is Lake Macquarie's mayor and state MP, has lived on the Morisset peninsula for years, not far from the marina site. He believes the plan is too big and should be dramatically reduced.

With his dual political roles and wily political skill, Piper has the potential to influence what gets built. He has indicated he will support a smaller development, saying 60 to 70 berths would be appropriate and that buildings should generally be two and three storeys high and not breach the tree line.

Piper believes the present plan would "change the very nature of being on the lake", but Johnson says anything less than what is planned will be unviable.

The NSW Government is the consent authority for the development, which will be assessed under its controversial Part 3A planning laws.

Former planning minister Frank Sartor handed assessment of the plan to Lake Macquarie City Council, but left consent powers in the state's hands. Piper insisted that was not his wish, saying he wanted the council to have the final say on the development.

Shuffling the marina plan between different authorities has caused confusion and has not been without controversy.

In December, the council was accused of delaying a rezoning plan for the marina project until after the September council election, a charge that the mayor and senior council staff denied.

Nevertheless, the marina has been a political hot potato and will remain so.

As an independent politician, it remains to be seen how much sway Piper will have with the Labor Government. He had a good relationship with Sartor, but new Premier Nathan Rees replaced him with Kristina Kenneally in the September cabinet reshuffle.

Running in Johnson's favour is the fact that the Government has earmarked Morisset to become a major regional centre. That means it wants to attract investment and jobs to the area.

Johnson said his plan would do exactly that and insists that those opposed to the development are in the minority.

Johnson said the council, including Piper, had pushed for ideas and projects that would put Lake Macquarie on the map and raise its profile. He said the marina would be a big step towards achieving that.

The public relations battle between Johnson and opposing residents has taken several twists and turns.

Residents pinned red signs to telegraph poles in the area that say: "No, high rise, heliport, marina." Johnson initially had his staff remove some of them, but later changed tack and put up his own green signs that say: "Yes, marina, lifestyle, village."

Residents formed the Morisset Park and District Action Group to fight the plan. Not to be outdone, a group of businessmen established their own association, Advancing Lake Macquarie, to back the marina.

The residents' group said its objective was to "preserve the peaceful environment of Morisset Park and surrounding areas and to maintain the existing character of the lake". The pro-marina group has its own website and Facebook site to spread its message in support of jobs and investment.

Ken Faulkes, secretary of the residents' group, said the marina would be "a major visual intrusion, day and night, for the many homes that line the bay".

It would be "a permanent source of noise in a peaceful area," Faulkes said.

"Not only is this a huge marina, it is intended for huge boats. These are seriously big, powerful and very expensive boats.

"Such boats are not suited for pottering around Lake Macquarie, they are ocean-going cruisers and will head at speed up to Swansea Channel to get outside."

The marina, he said, would "destroy the small boating activity that is traditional in the bay".

In its December newsletter, the residents' group said the developer had "seized the opportunity" to use Part 3A laws to "attempt a gross overdevelopment with a plan that would never have been considered under council planning rules".

Residents are cynical that Lake Macquarie council and the NSW Planning Department waited until the Christmas-new year period to publicly exhibit the marina plans.

The exhibition period has been extended until February 28, but the residents' group said it was an inadequate amount of time for the public to "study the huge volume of material" and write submissions.

Johnson said the plan was ready to be exhibited almost a year ago and he could not understand why it had been delayed for so long.

He envisions a "world-class" project on the site and believes most residents support more jobs for the area.

"We need residents' support for this to work, to use the restaurants, cafes and amenities," he said.

The marina will be open to the public, with boardwalks established and links to a village square.

Johnson said the project would provide much-needed activity in the area and attract international visitors to spend money in Lake Macquarie.

The helipad would allow visitors to make the short trip from Sydney by air. He is negotiating with an international airline and prominent boating identities to back the marina.

TRINITY POINT MARINA

Staged Marina and

associated structures

(308 berths)

The Johnson Property

Group marina plan for

Morisset Park on Lake

Macquarie. Below, the

site as it is today.

Residential

75

apartment

© 2009 Newcastle Herald

Back to News Index | Back to Home