The Land and Environment Court has approved amended plans for 44 Manning St, the property to the north of the Uniting Church.

The original DA. The amended DA plans are not yet public.

The original plans faced strong opposition by the neighbouring Uniting Church, the Kiama Central Precinct and Council officers, with multiple concerns around its bulk, lack of reference to its location, and privacy and overshadowing.

The negotiated proceedings resulted in a number of changes to the DA that had been unsuccessfully submitted to Council. The changes include:

• Reducing four of the sixteen units from three to two bedrooms, with resulting less car spaces
• Reorienting the back units so that balconies face the rear instead of overlooking the Church site
• Increasing the size of balconies to meet requirement, as well as providing additional spaces for outdoor clothes drying
• Installing sliding/operable privacy screens to top floor side and rear balconies to ensure privacy
• Increasing planter boxes and landscaping on first floor side and rear balconies to ensure privacy
• Installing vertical stacking car parking systems to ensure required number of car parking spaces provided
• Providing shadow diagrams to show that proposal will not significantly overshadow the adjoining Church site.

The approval comes at a time when there increasing calls for a heritage conservation area for the east Kiama precinct.