Merimbula residents in Lakewood Drive are in shock after it was revealed a DA for 89 two-bedroom units as part of a seniors living village had been submitted to council. Residents say they have serious concerns over the DA from the Justice Fox Property Group of Sydney, particularly in relation to traffic issues, building heights which in some areas are 15m, well above the exisiting 10m limit, and overshadowing of their properties. The parcel of land was sold to Justice Fox by Michael Britten but it is understood that Mr Britten will also be making a submission in relation to what he sees as an "over development". Graham Rout and his wife bought a block of land in Lakewood Drive five years ago. It is close to the proposed village which is on land adjacent to Robyn's Nest. "This was to be our retirement home; we were in Wodonga and wanted to finish our days in peaceful existence, somewhere out of the way with not a lot of traffic," Mr Rout said. "Now this DA just changes everything. This is way over the top. There will be about 200 cars a day going past our house." READ ALSO: Mr Rout said the news of the DA and its effect brought his wife to tears. "This has been pretty stressful. We thought we were even out of the main tourist area here." The outcry has been such that around 80-100 people attended a meeting at the boat ramp on Lakewood Drive and met with the mayor Russell Fitzpatrick. One of the people attending was Liz Hall who lives about 500m from the site but she is still concerned about how development will impact her. "The height and the size of the development are two issues but a big concern is the safety factor. All of a sudden there's going to be 200 more cars going past," Ms Hall said. There's only one road in and one road out and we all know how terrifying the bushfires were. The road is not suitable for this amount of traffic," Ms Hall said. She is worried about the noise and dust during the building phase and run off into the lake. "The height and size of this is just monstrous. We will be sitting on our back verandah looking at that whopping big thing," Ms Hall said. The $40m development will be considered by the Southern Regional Planning Panel (SRPP) but submissions made to council will be passed on. Residents have been advised to make individual submissions. The exhibition time was due to end December 12 but ACM understands a meeting of the SRPP on December 15 is likely to extend the deadline. Sign up for our breaking news alerts and free weekly newsletter for the best in local news
