Ballina seniors development approved after court fight

A $105 million seniors living development in Ballina has won approval in the NSW Land and Environmental Court after Ballina Shire Council previously rejected the proposal over flooding and environmental concerns.

The GemLife project on Burns Point Ferry Road will include 110 homes and communal facilities for residents aged over 50.

More than 75 per cent of the 57-hectare site will be set aside as a conservation reserve, with 46.6 hectares of coastal wetlands and estuarine habitat to be permanently protected.

This includes 40.5 hectares secured under a biobanking agreement and a further 4.24 hectares under a biodiversity stewardship arrangement with the state government.

The conservation area will be rehabilitated and managed long term, with measures such as weed control, feral animal management and restoration of natural water flows.

Environmental safeguards will also include bio-retention basins and water-quality treatment infrastructure aimed at protecting downstream waterways and coastal ecosystems.

GemLife reduced the scale of the development during the approval process, cutting the number of proposed homes from 148 following feedback on earlier applications.

Managing director and group chief executive Adrian Puljich said the final approval reflected extensive technical assessment.

“The application was subject to detailed review and independent assessment, including consideration of flooding, biodiversity and environmental matters,” he said.

“We refined our original proposal through the process, reducing the number of homes and increasing the extent of conservation land.

“The approved outcome provides for quality new housing for over-50s in Ballina while ensuring long-term environmental protection across the majority of the site.”

Puljich said the reserve would protect mangrove forest, saltmarsh and swamp oak communities, as well as habitat for species including the Mangrove Honeyeater and Collared Kingfisher.

He said homes would be built on parts of the site previously cleared for agriculture, including cattle grazing and sugar cane farming.

However, local Greens MP Tamara Smith criticised the approval, arguing it highlighted systemic failures in protecting communities from development on flood-prone land.

“The current system allows developers to navigate planning frameworks while local communities are left carrying the long-term financial, environmental and emotional risks,” she said.

“When developments go ahead on floodplains, the profits are privatised but the risks are shared.”