A major housing development in Millthorpe has been rejected by a majority of Blayney councillors with a call by deputy mayor Allan Ewin to "Do this better."
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The 23 lot subdivision at 61 Forest Reefs Road was voted against by councillors Bruce Reynolds, David Somervaille and Allan Ewin. Councillors David Kingham and John Newstead voted for the development whilst the mayor Scott Ferguson, who had declared a pecuniary interest, stepped out of the chamber during the debate and also during the public forum.
Councillor Scott Denton was absent.
Speaking during the public forum nearby resident David Dixon said that the risk of flooding in and around the development was too high.
"Our house flooded three times in 2010 when council raised the height of the road creating a sag point in front of our driveway," he said.
"We've ended up with a giant drain across our land with bridges that council gave us that are utterly treacherous and my concern is how much more run-off will there be in regards to roofs, driveways, roads, gutters, kerbs, grassed areas and paths?"
Cr Bruce Reynolds voiced his concerns regarding the drainage issue during the debate on the development application fearing ongoing costs to ratepayers.
"We don't want to leave a legacy issue," he said. "Most of my concerns are around water and drainage. The last thing that I want is another Unwin or Stabback Street in Millthorpe. That's going to cost our council over a million dollars to rectify."
Another nearby resident Bendix Keukenmeester said that the density of homes on the site is too high and it's in the wrong location.
"If you want to know what this development will look like, just go past one of the recent developments in North Orange," he said.
"In North Orange though there are no existing homes. This development will be dropped in and amongst long existing homes in a rural and semi-rural location with little consideration for the interests of people living on those properties."
The visual impact of the development, in particular the density of housing proposed and the visual impact of it, is one of the reasons that Cr Somervaille voted against the development.
"This is almost a seminal point in the development of Millthorpe," he said.
"There is a demand for residences in Millthorpe and we need to meet that, but on the other hand we need to balance that with the need to protect the unique historical setting of Millthorpe and its well preserved historical features.
"The zoning here is the same as those to the west so we need to make sure that the pattern of housing here is the same."
The developers Lynne and Glenn Mortimer chose not to make a comment.
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