A Hunter council has approved a 139-lot subdivision, as well as a divisive 16-unit development after residents lost their fight over a new "battle-axe" block on Tuesday night.
Maitland City Council has given the green light to a $21.4 million, 139-lot residential subdivision at Lochinvar that required a hard-fought compromise to protect a state heritage-listed coach house, on the same night councillors narrowly approved a contentious 16-unit development at Largs that every one of its 27 submitters opposed.
The council voted unanimously, 12-0, to approve DA/2025/138, a three-into-141-lot Torrens title subdivision spanning 16.6 hectares at 20 and 20A Cantwell Road and 60 New England Highway, Lochinvar.
The decision paves the way for 139 residential lots ranging from 450 to 869 square metres.
Estimated construction costs of $21.42 million pushed the decision above staff delegation and into councillors' hands.
The path to approval ran through a dispute over Cantwell Road's two heritage-listed neighbours, the state heritage-listed Nowlands Lochinvar Coach House and the locally listed Holy Trinity Anglican Church.
Resident Alan Thomas, who lives at the heritage-listed coach house with his wife, told council the site's two 100-year-old hoop pines and a bunya pine were at risk from a planned widening of Cantwell Road.
Mr Thomas said he raised the alarm with council in April 2025, and the design was subsequently changed so widening occurred only on the eastern side of the road.
"This is really acceptable to us," he told the meeting, while urging that hand-digging and other tree-protection measures recommended in an arborist's report be strictly followed near the root zones during construction.
Cr Halliday welcomed the outcome as evidence of good-faith negotiation between the applicant, staff and the community, but flagged a separate concern about the subdivision's lack of lot-size diversity, noting all 139 lots ranged only from 450 to 869 square metres rather than offering the broader mix typically expected.
The council was far more divided over DA 2025/1082, a 16-unit multi-dwelling housing development with a 16-lot strata subdivision at 20 Dunmore Road, Largs, ultimately approving it on a 7-5 vote.
The application, for a mix of two-storey dwellings behind an existing battle-axe driveway, drew 27 submissions during exhibition, all opposed or raising concerns, prompting it to be referred to a full council decision rather than determined by staff.
Objector Nicholas Percy told the council the development represented "a significant intensification" of a site surrounded by single-storey homes, farmland, a council reserve and a watercourse, arguing compliance with individual planning controls "does not automatically make a development appropriate for this location."
He said the community had "responded with a resounding no."
Neighbour Scott McGeichy, who shares a side and rear boundary with the site, said the development's internal driveway would sit as little as one metre from his bedroom window, rather than the 2.5 metres stated in the application, and that headlights from an estimated 120 vehicle movements a day would sweep directly into his family's bedrooms.
He pointed to council's earlier decision to cut a nearby development at 2 Dunmore Road from 12 units to eight, all single storey, and asked that this application be held to the same standard.
Planning consultant Megan Cooper, representing applicant Perception Planning, said the design had been revised in response to community feedback and now exceeded council's parking requirements, with two on-site spaces per dwelling plus five visitor spaces and dedicated parking for caravans and boats.
Applicant Adrian Holt, a part-owner of the development company and a long-time local, told the council, changes including a reduced unit count, a widened two-way driveway and on-site waste collection had been made to directly address neighbours' concerns.
Cr Atkinson said 27 opposing submissions were "a clear signal from the community that the development is an overreach," while Cr Halliday said the density and building height did not suit what she described as a large-lot, semi-rural suburb.
Cr Whiting said the development was "out of sequence" with surrounding low-density housing and cited cumulative traffic concerns around a blind corner on Dunmore Road.
Other councillors argued the development could not reasonably be refused.
Cr Don Ferris noted the application met all planning controls, said councillors risked a costly and unsuccessful fight in the Land and Environment Court if they voted against a compliant proposal, arguing the region needed higher-density infill to protect surrounding farmland even while acknowledging sympathy for affected neighbours.
The application was carried 7-5.
