Green light likely for new residential plan at Macarthur Grange golf course

Macarthur Grange golf course looks set to make way for housing.

The current owners have lodged a planning proposal to Campbelltown Council, which has signalled it may not be opposed – unlike previous attempts to rezone the 130 hectare Scenic Hills property for housing and other uses.

The key feature of the latest master plan is the provision of 63 rural residential lots ranging from half a hectare to 2.75 hectares, each containing a single dwelling.

The master plan also includes:

A six hectare lot fronting Raby Road to accommodate a potential hotel and function centre uses around the existing club house;

Nine hectares of open space including riparian open space in the southern end and two lookout parks in the northern section of the site taking advantage of key vantage points within the landscape;

 A 24 hectare hilltop conservation reserve protecting the most significant area of Cumberland Plain Woodland;

 • North south walking and cycling trails of 2.5km linking open space and the conservation reserve with potential to connect to Mt Annan botanic garden in the south and Western Sydney Parklands in the north.

The site, which has operated as an 18 hole golf course with a club house for more than 20 years, has been the subject of a number of unsuccessful attempts to develop it further.

One of the early plans presented to council was for a cemetery and crematorium, but strong opposition from Kearns residents on the eastern side stopped that in its tracks.

In 2011 the site was unsuccessfully nominated in the previous NSW Government’s owner nominated sites program for residential development.

Five years later, an ambitious proposal to rezone the land to allow more than 550 lots was also knocked back by Campbelltown Council.

The new planning proposal request, which will be debated at Campbelltown Council’s next monthly meeting on Tuesday, July 12, points out that more than 50 per cent of the site would be zoned for public recreation or environmental conservation.

And with a total site area of 129.5 hectares, development would not exceed 2.5 dwellings per hectare.

A report to council for next week’s meeting recommends that the proposal be supported at this stage.

“This planning proposal is in support of a long-term sustainable land use strategy for an important component of Campbelltown local government area’s Scenic Hills,’’ says the report.

“The planning proposal has been designed to preserve the landscape values and local character of the area in perpetuity.

“The proposal will also provide new public access to significant hilltop locations through a north south green corridor that has longer term potential to link the important regional open space locations of Mount Annan and the Western Sydney Parklands.

“The planning proposal represents a unique once in a generation opportunity to provide a long-term sustainable use for the area, that creates significant public benefits and preserves the natural environment,’’ says the report.