"Death by a thousand cuts": South West Rocks grapples with fast-tracked new builds

A Kempsey Shire councillor says koalas have been forced to “flee” across roads in South West Rocks due to “rampant stripping” of habitat for housing developments. 

Popular for progress: South West Rocks, a former fishing village now home to more than 5500 residents, is attractive to developers partly due to the availability of flood-free land, a rarity in Kempsey Shire. 

The beachside lifestyle doesn’t hurt either.

The town’s population is forecasted to increase to more than 8000 people by 2041 - requiring an additional 1582 dwellings.

Land in demand: Large scale subdivisions have been frequent in the past few years, including through the revival of decades-old development applications (DAs).

While some projects progressed through council or the courts, others were approved by the NSW Government in the 2000s and 2010s.

As they have been developed in stages, much of the land clearing has taken place in the last few years.

Habitat loss: Councillor and South West Rocks local Julie Coburn believes previous state approval processes have allowed developers to “sidestep” full considerations of local environmental impacts.

She said this has resulted in greater habitat clearing to “maximise the square metreage they're going to get”, forcing native wildlife further into suburbia. 

Koalas on the block: Coburn said one victim of the development has been the region’s koala population, which has been scattered by the disruption to habitat.

• “[They’ve been found] in people's properties in their palm trees, for goodness’ sake, because they've been displaced,” Coburn told the Mid North Coaster.
  
  “[Development] has just been relentless in the last five years. It’s death by a thousand cuts.”

Coburn argued the cumulative impacts of multiple developments - such as traffic, infrastructure needs and stress on local services - are not fully considered at the state level.

• “When these developments actually end up in the ground, they follow the planning that has been agreed to, and then they walk away. Whatever problems are left, the state washes their hands of it. That becomes a local government responsibility, and that becomes a burden on ratepayers,” she said.

Looking forward: Coburn warned the issue could be exacerbated by the government’s State Significant Development (SSD) pathway, which was activated in 2025 to fast track the delivery of major housing projects.

* Projects with “significant economic, social or environmental impacts” can be classified as SSD, meaning they are approved by the Minister for Planning and not the local council.

* In regional NSW, the pathway is available to projects valued at over $30 million. 

Government reply: A spokesperson for the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure said SSDs are subject to a “rigorous merit assessment, which includes an Environmental Impact Statement, consultation with councils, consideration of community submissions and advice from government authorities and utility providers before a determination is made”.

What’s next?: A new over-50s land lease development featuring 101 dwellings, two “community facilities buildings” and 26 car parking spaces received approval through the SSD process last month. 

There are no further SSD projects currently under assessment in South West Rocks. 

Image credit: supplied by Cr Julie Coburn.