A LONG-RUNNING development application for completion of a suspended swimming pool at property at Port Hacking Road, Dolans Bay has been approved by Sutherland Shire Council.
The original application for construction of a two-storey house and a pool was lodged in 2007 and went through a number of applications for modifications. Work began in 2011 but a stopwork order was issued in May 2012.
The approved application allows for alteration to the design of the existing approved swimming pool at the site.
Three neighbouring property owners had objected, including former Sutherland Shire mayor Lorraine Kelly. They were concerned principally with the appearance of the amended structures from their properties given that the swimming pool would be moved towards the south-east of the site.
The applicants said the changes to the proposed design of the swimming pool were minor and landscaping requirements had been met.
The Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel report said additional documentation contained "substantial inaccuracies" and showed that an "existing retaining wall" had been removed in 2012.
"The panel also observed that the description of the modification was inaccurate because it referred only to a 15 per cent reorientation of the swimming pool, when the pool area was increasing and moving closer to the objectors," the report said.
"The inaccurate description of the development was a substantial cause of anxiety of the neighbours.
"While those deficiencies made assessment of the proposal difficult, the panel felt sufficiently able to understand the proposal and the resulting impacts to consider its merits.
"The appearance of the reconfigured swimming pool and undercroft wall was the principal issue, and in the circumstances of the history of this matter and the poor documentation, the concerns raised by the adjoining neighbours were reasonable and understandable."
"While the alterations would not be of the same appearance as that originally approved, the proposal by the applicant to substantially screen the wall with dense vegetation means these issues were not likely to be significant for any lasting period," the report concluded.
The panel recommended approval with conditions including the reinstatement of a retaining wall and landscape works to obscure the pool filtration.
Cr Kent Johns said: "It's not uncommon with the topography of this area of the shire that pools are often above natural ground level."
