Geoff Helisma
Clarence Valley Council (CVC) has sold its former visitor information centre (VIC), pending completion of a planning proposal to rezone the property at 2 Spring Street, South Grafton, “from SP3 Tourist to B5 Business Development”.
The property was put on the market following CVC’s adoption of the Stafford Report in 2013 and the resultant digitisation of CVC’s tourism services.
After that, CVC resolved to sell “a number of properties … to reduce operational expenditure in order to meet the requirements of the state government’s Fit for the Future criteria in achieving financial sustainability”, the report to yesterday’s February 23 CVC meeting stated.
The property has been on the market for “some five years” and several offers to purchase the property have been rejected.
The VIC’s sale was considered at the June 2019 CVC meeting, during which councillors resolved to “not accept the offer for purchase … provide a counteroffer to the potential purchaser, in accordance with the confidential attachment, [and] amend the reserve price if the counteroffer is not accepted, as detailed in the confidential attachment”.
The report to yesterday’s CVC meeting noted, “The common advice received from the market [during the time offers were received] was that the zoning of the property was not conducive to operations of a like business to those in the surrounding area and, therefore, a sufficient sale price could not be achieved and, likewise, a tenant could not be found.”
The report to yesterday’s CVC meeting stated: “In June 2019, Council delegated the parameters for sale of Lot 2 DP 839420 to the General Manager.
“In July 2020, Council resolved to appoint an independent party to prepare a Planning Proposal to rezone the land to B5 Business Development.
“In July 2021”, councillors resolved to “endorse the planning proposal and seek a Gateway Determination to amend the Clarence Valley LEP”.
The report to yesterday’s CVC meeting stated that the director of the “Northern Region at the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, as the delegate for the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, has determined … that amending the Clarence Valley Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2011 should proceed subject to conditions”:
updating of the planning proposal to include a contamination report;
consulting with Transport for NSW and the NSW Biodiversity and Conservation Division; and,
conducting a public exhibition of the gateway determination.
Contracts for the sale were exchanged after CVC received an offer in “late 2021”.
The sale is “conditional on the gazettal of a LEP giving effect to the planning proposal”.
“On settlement, the value of the sale will be disclosed publicly as a variation to budget through the subsequent financial report to council,” the report to yesterday’s meeting stated.
Councillors resolved at the April 2018 meeting to list the property “with a real estate agent for $1.2million (plus GST); and the terms in the confidential attachment … are to be applied”.