Nearly 100 community members dropped into the Evandale Memorial Hall throughout the week to hear from the developers of a proposed nearby town.
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Sydney-based developers, Traders in Purple, said the community information sessions for the 242-hectare settlement had been “very constructive”.
Chief executive Brett Robinson said the community had given the developers ideas about what they’d like to see, and had been able to raise concerns.
“Over all it’s been a very constructive process. We’ve had people both for an against, but have had a lot of constructive response as well,” he said.
Ideas such as agriculture developments, bike parks, different housing options, and the need for services such as a pharmacy and a butchery were discussed.
One of the organisation’s directors Charles Daoud said a lot of the community was not adverse to change.
“People fear change is going to happen and they are going to feel a loss, but we don’t want them to lose anything,” Mr Daoud said.
“The sentiment has been that [the residents] are OK with something happening and it’s a very positive thing for Evandale and the region, but they want us to do it right and we’re absolutely committed to that.”
He said the project, touted to be called Ridgeside, would take about 20 years to come to fruition.
Evandale resident Beatrice Langley attended the sessions and said it had been “really positive”.
“It’s very different how they’ve done it. Most building companies would come with ‘this is what it is going to look like, what do you think?’ whereas Traders in Purple have come with a blank slate,” she said.
“They said ‘tell us what you would like there’, which I think is fantastic.”
Now, the developers will collate the community’s feedback into “high level” concept plans and bring them back for further community consultations in about two weeks.
“This really is the first step in the process. Following on from that we process we will then start looking at a rezoning application,” Mr Robinson said.
The developers hope the site would eventually become the most sustainable development in Australia.