A petition was tabled at last Wednesday’s Cessnock City Council meeting calling on councillors to oppose the rezoning of 156 acres of rural land between Millfield and Paxton.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The development known as Rosehill proposes dividing the land into 100 one to two acre lots.
The petition, organised by the Communities of the Congewai Catchment Inc (COCCI) and tabled by Cr. Cordelia Troy, has over 500 signatures from residents of the villages of Millfield, Paxton, Ellalong and Congewai.
“Given the small size of these communities this is considered to be a significant number of people conveying their views to councillors,” COCCI spokesperson Greg Lewis said.
“Residents expressed their concerns over a number of issues including the lack of infrastructure such as proper roads, drainage, parks and services to support further developments in the area; the fact that there are already 440 rezoned residential lots adjoining Millfield whereas the number of existing homes approximates only 280; and loss of the small rural village atmospheres both at Millfield and Paxton.
“In addition, although the planning proposal states 100 lots, the real potential for those lots to be further significantly subdivided will not only exacerbate the above key issues but will place a potential financial burden on council to upgrade the low pressure sewerage system included in the proposal as well as upgrading local roads and drainage once the number of lots exceeds 100.
“The community says no to rezoning the Rosehill rural land and trust our councillors vote accordingly,” Mr. Lewis said.
Council voted in June last year to forward the Rosehill planning proposal to the Department of Planning and Infrastructure for gateway determination.
