Hawkesbury councillors have backed the planning agreement and development controls for Kemsley Park by nine votes to three, advancing an infrastructure package Council describes as worth $42.75 million for the proposed Redbank expansion.
The October 13 decision, resolution 206, endorsed the voluntary planning agreement and explanatory note, authorised the Mayor and General Manager to execute the agreement under Council's seal, and adopted the site-specific development control plan.
Mayor Mary Lyons-Buckett and councillors Peter Ryan and Danielle Wheeler opposed the motion. All nine other councillors supported it.
The documents concern approximately 35 hectares at 322 Grose Vale Road, surrounded on three sides by Redbank, and a proposed subdivision of up to 350 housing lots. The October vote concerned infrastructure commitments and development rules; it was not consent to construct those homes.
The report's headline value combines different kinds of contributions. It does not represent a $42.75 million cash payment to Council.
Adding the values in the agreement's Schedule 5 produces $42,754,600. That includes an $8 million Grose Vale Road upgrade explicitly listed as development works outside the voluntary planning agreement, with its scope to be determined through a future development application.
The remaining scheduled items total about $34.75 million. They include land dedication valued at $13.365 million for open space and $8.1081 million for conservation: a combined $21.47 million in land values.
The cash contribution is $695,000, subject to consumer-price-index adjustments, for North Richmond capital works including footpaths and play-space improvements. Base payments of $208,500 and $486,500 are tied to subdivision certificates for the 105th and 245th lots respectively.
The cash schedule identifies Arthur Phillip Drive between Townsend and Pecks roads, the Pecks Road–Tyne Crescent easement connection, and locations at Arthur Phillip Drive/Pecks Road, Tyne Crescent and Campbell/William Street.
The agreement excludes the usual section 7.11 and section 7.12 development contributions for the proposed development and its housing lots. The negotiated package therefore replaces those charges, rather than being an additional payment on top of them.
Other scheduled contributions include shared paths, drainage, roads beside open space, two pedestrian refuges, a 1.8-hectare local park, approximately two hectares of conservation park and a two-hectare linear central park. Five years of landscaped-area maintenance is separately valued at $2.5 million.
The agreement also limits the registration of subdivisions creating more than 175 housing lots until the Grose River Bridge is completed and open to traffic. That restriction concerns lot registration, rather than preventing applications or subdivision certificates from being obtained.
The agreement makes its contribution and bridge-related obligations conditional on development approval. Council's resolution authorises the agreement to be signed.
The exhibition report records one submission on the agreement and three on the development control plan. Officers recommended no agreement amendment in response to the submission. The development controls were revised following feedback about greening and heritage.
The controls address the site's relationship with the historic Yobarnie Keyline landscape, including woodland, water management and landscape interpretation. The Gazette previously reported on the proposed expansion in September 2025.
In Council's Chambers and Beyond podcast, from 9:11, General Manager Will Barton explained that rejecting these supporting documents would not itself stop Kemsley Park. The Mayor reiterated her opposition to the expansion while acknowledging the majority decision.
