Rozelle residents roost over super-yacht marina

Community anger is brewing over the controversial $25 million expansion plan for a ‘super-yacht marina’ in Rozelle Bay amid fears the area could turn into a large-scale entertainment hub.

The NSW Department for Planning and Infrastructure has received 55 public objections, including a detailed joint submission from concerned Glebe residents.

“They’ve renamed it a yacht club, when it really is an entertainment centre,” said Glebe resident Mark Dent. “There’s no yacht club that would have 36 per cent of its area dedicated to deck.

“This deck area is going to be used for live bands and entertainment. This is really an entertainment centre masked as a yacht club to try to fulfill the criteria of the [2000 Rozelle and Blackwattle Bays] Master Plan to say it’s got to be marine-related.”

Facing towards Bicenntennial Park in Glebe, the marina development is currently under assessment by planning authorities. The venue is slated to be open until midnight every night, with live music proposed to take place outdoors every day until 8pm before heading indoors until 10pm.

“It’s a bit strange that after 10pm on weekends music comes in off the deck and goes inside, and they close the doors supposedly,” said Mr Dent. “You know how that’s going to turn out.”

NSW Greens MP for Balmain, Jamie Parker warned the disturbance of sound travelling across water needed to be recognised.

“What’s clear to me is that the Planning and Assessment Commission (PAC) needs to take into account that there’s partrons and live bands, and a whole range of activities which is just a few hundred metres away from residents on the other side of the bay in Glebe,” he said.

Locals are also concerned about the potential environmental impact of large yachts entering contaminated water. Elected representative of the Bays Taskforce Action Committee, Gretchen Gamble said “the sediments on the bottom of the bay are absolutely and totally toxic.”

“They are way over in terms of lead and ink. When you bring in large motorised boats and the tide is not high, then you stir all that up. Once you’ve stirred all that up, then it’s there for fish life and for the life of the bay itself,” she said.

“That bay is used by rowers. I’ve seen people around the bay and this lady actually said ‘when we row, we actually come in with grey faces’. That’s how dirty the water is.”

A spokesperson for the planning department said potential noise and environmental impacts were taken into account in its Environmental Assessment Report, published in October.

“Regarding potential noise impacts, the department recommended conditions such as the closure of balconies after 10pm, the establishment of a complaints register and a requirement for noise limiters on amplification equipment,” they said.

“The PAC, ultimately responsible for determining whether the said impacts are acceptable and can be managed appropriately, is currently considering plans for the proposed development.”

The proposal includes a yacht club, bars, restaurants offices, workshops and a multi-level car park. Investment banker Mark Carnegie and solicitor Andrew Robinson have a majority stake in the venture.