The Rocks Community Information
Community exhibition Documentation
FAQ
Rise Projects director Daniel Pszczonka holidays in South West Rocks with his family annually and has done so for many years. Daniel and his wife were married in South West Rocks.
When Daniel was aware that this site was for sale, he was inspired to design and develop high quality homes and create a walkable local centre with dining and retail for residents and locals. The vision is to provide a place where people can live in a quality home, walk to the beach with their family, and easily grab a coffee or brunch just outside their front door.
How long will it take to build –Stages 2 and 3 will be built in stages and will take approximately 15+ years to complete all stages
Now that the development approval has been issued in August 2023, construction is planned to commence as rapidly as possible. Rise Projects are targeting commencement of construction, roads & services, approximately around Christmas 2023 or shortly afterward. Home construction would commence part way through the civil construction, (e.g., approximately mid-2024), and would be completed within one year. As with any development & construction program timing will be subject to many external factors including weather, supply chains, equipment, trades etc.
Yes, The Rocks received development approval by a vote of Kempsey Shire Council in August 2023. The Rocks’ recent approval ensures it complies with all current legislation and codes.
There were claims made by an anti-development group in social media that the site is subject to a “zombie DA” and doesn’t comply with current legislation, codes and standards, however those claims are not truthful. There was a development approval in place on the site dated 1993, but that DA will not be built and is not compatible with the current DA approval.
The concept mater plan development application for stages 2 and 3 have been lodged now that stage 1 was approved.
Rise Projects will be developing the future stages to the same high architectural and quality build standards as have been demonstrated in the initial 18 townhouse homes. Future stages are planned to complete progressively & would be continuous until the completion of The Rocks development.
The initial stage of the Rocks is the only stage where purchasers can buy a home on a block of Torrens Title land, other future stages are being designed as medium density and strata-titled.
Stages 2 and 3 are not anticipated to start construction for another 3-4+ years and will take 15+ years to complete.
The café is planned as unique, local, and non-franchised. Rise Projects will be selective in finding the right café owner with an established record of providing good coffee and good food made fresh in the kitchen. The intention is to raise the bar for local food and coffee offerings in the SW Rocks area and attract even more people to The Rocks.
The retail outlets are similarly intended to raise the bar for local retail offerings, in a brand-new retail tenancy. Rise Projects will be selectively finding the right local retail offerings with a focus on health and art to suit the location.
The retail and café at the entry of the project is planned to be the next stage of works after the townhouses. Development approval for this was received in August 2023. It is planned that construction for the retail and café would commence after the civil roadworks are completed. Currently it is expected that construction for that stage would commence 2024 to 2025.
The public beach access is currently in the planning stages. Rise Projects have been in communication with the relevant local and state authorities to identify the best pathway to approval. The approval process will in part be subject to the NSW government’s own timeframes on periodic revision of their land management arrangements, and Rise has been informed this would take some time. Unfortunately, it is not possible yet to provide a timeframe for the planning approvals, however Rise Projects has offered to fully fund and maintain a disable accessible and environmentally friendly raised walkway to the beach. We will continue to progress this process as rapidly as possible to provide the best possible outcome for South West Rocks
The community association is collectively the owners for the common property defined as ‘Lot 1’. This includes the roadway and street verges in ‘The Rocks’ property. This also includes the 15,000m2 of public open spaces that the community can also enjoy.
The communal ownership of this land will also provide flexibility for purposes that the community could decide on, that would otherwise be subject to Council’s decisions. For example, the community could hold events on communal land at their discretion.
The benefits to the greater community is that all the cost and management associated with “The Rocks” is borne by the residents of the rocks, and not council. But the resident of “The Rocks” still pay rates to council.
In 1993, a development consent granted for a 180 unit resort shops and bar. It was ranging from 3-5 stories in height with no public access or amenity. The project was put on hold by the previous landowner due to unforeseen circumstances. In 2008, the previous landowner received written confirmation from KSC that “it would seem to council that the consent had not lapsed”. The development was nicknamed Club Med by locals and council has always been aware of the valid consent.
No. The development was designed not to be visible from any key locations in South West Rocks. Urbis consulting is Australia’s leading visual impact assessment consultant, certifiably accurate photomontages have been prepared by Urbis which show the location, height, scale and massing of the proposed Stage 2 and Development. These study can be found on our website in the Visual And Heights Study’s.
The site has been cleared and maintained by the previous land owner for the last 30 years. Rise retained all significant vegetation along Phillip drive, and a western portion of site. Although clearing has taken place a 50% landscaped area is being proposed in the master plan, which will result in more significant trees being planted. In context house and land subdivisions generally have 20% or less of landscaped areas across the developable area.
Non intrusive plant species will be carefully selected and managed of the years, so there is no impact on the adjoining lands. These plant species will be selected by specialists consultants and further approved by council and state government departments. There will be an ongoing management plan to ensure ongoing compliance is maintained
Rise has designed a system so that all stormwater is discharged into the soil in various locations on the site, so there will be no run-off flowing off the site to the creek. The site will have a best-practice NORBE (Neutral or Beneficial) stormwater design, which means that the stormwater on site will be treated to a higher standard than the existing condition of the stormwater in the surrounding area. In this case Rise Projects have obtained water quality testing of Saltwater Creek and the site’s stormwater will be cleaner than the water in the creek.
Similar to other land-owners in the area, Rise Projects were advised by the EPA and Council of an investigation in the groundwater below the ‘oil terminal sites’, which were decommissioned over 30 years ago. It is important to be clear those sites are separated from the Rise site by Phillip Drive and existing houses, and there is a substantial distance between them. To ensure that this matter would not cause concerns regarding the Rise Projects site, Rise Projects proactively investigated the entire footprint of the Rocks site with a certified “Detailed Site Investigation” carried out to EPA standards and assessed by specialist officers in the NSW EPA. The investigation determined that:
1. The Rise site had no contamination in the soil
2. The Rise site had trace amounts of contaminants in the groundwater deep below ground level in a very small area to the west of the site which is reserved as bushland. However the readings were close to an undetectable level by laboratory testing. For reference, the highest relevant reading on the Rise site was 0.022 μg/L. A μg is a millionth of a gram, or a billionth of a kilogram. So this reading can be described as 2.2% of a billionth of a kilogram. Guidelines deem the traces so low that it’s still suitable for drinking water.
3.The groundwater in the area flows south to north, toward the creek, meaning any PFAS are flowing away from the Rise site. This is why the readings on the Rise site are so small as to be almost undetectable.
Rise Projects provided their detailed investigation data and reporting to the NSW EPA, who conducted a review, and then issued a letter confirming that The Rocks site was suitable for residential development.
It is important to note that EPA & Council have monitored groundwater and surface water in the area and the have confirmed that residents can swim in Saltwater Creek, and can eat several serves of mudcrab from the creek per week.
This report is also available on this website in the “Community Exhibition Documentation” tab
The acid sulphate potential of deeper soil on the north part of the site is a completely natural phenomenon which is almost guaranteed to be present in locations near the sea, and watercourses such as Saltwater Creek, and are very familiar to geotechnical engineers. It is not an unusual or concerning matter. Testing has been conducted throughout the site. These potential soils have only been noted in the northern side of the site, and Rise Projects will not be excavating downward into those soils now or in the future stages. Soils with this potential only become problematic if they are not treated properly and are allowed to wash into the environment. Again, soils like this are very common, and Rise Projects will not be excavating down into potential acid sulphate soils in the current or future stages.
Some have claimed that sandy soils make the site unsuitable for the development, even though the surrounding houses have been situated on the same soil for many decades. However sandy soils are widely recognised as an excellent base to build roads and buildings on. Towers in cities like Perth and Dubai are built on sand. It provides a very high strength substrate for roads, and a very high strength founding material for building slabs. Sandy soils do not ‘heave’ like clay soils, where moisture variations can cause movements and cracks in buildings. The soils of the Rise site will provide a high-strength foundation.
Groundwater monitoring has been conducted over a long term period, and the results have demonstrated that basements can be built on this site without negative effects on the groundwater table. The proposed basements in the southern part of the site will slightly intersect the groundwater table, but will be fully waterproofed. The proposed basements in the northern part of the site will be built above the current ground level to ensure no digging into acid sulphate soils, and to ensure flood compliance.
The Rocks Stage 1 was approved by Kempsey Shire Council in August 2023. One of the documents in the DA was a very detailed site-specific flood modelling report which considers all flooding risks and assesses the site and surrounding area, including Saltwater Creek and outwards to the sea. The ground floor levels of the homes are all approximately RL4 up to RL5, meaning the relative level is around four to five metres above sea level. The modelling has predicted that all the homes are safe above flood levels even during a 1 in 100 year flood. The recent record rainfalls in recent years did not get anywhere close to those flood heights. The information in the flood model is based on the latest government source data. Stages 2 and 3 will be situated above RL6 which is higher than many residential areas of South West Rocks, and Kempsey LGA.