![\"4](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Gold-Creek-Country-Club.png\")
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An artist\u2019s impression of the development proposed by Gold Creek Country Club. Image: Cox Architecture.<\/p>\n
The Konstantinou Group\u2019s development plans for Gold Creek Country Club land in Nicholls remain alive after a Tribunal decision threw out the Territory Planning Authority\u2019s refusal of three development applications.<\/p>\n
The DAs were three of eight lodged at once in November 2023 by Gungahlin Golf Investments (GGI) to cover a $330 million, 694-dwelling commercial accommodation (motel) development over 10 years on 7.5 hectares of land on Curran Drive.<\/p>\n
The eight DAs from GGI each represented a stage of the 10-year development and reflected the master plan developed for the project.<\/p>\n
Five of these were withdrawn during the assessment period, and the Planning Authority did not accept that the remaining proposals were for motels, arguing that they were, in fact, multi-unit residential developments and were prohibited under the planning rules. It knocked back all three in April this year.<\/p>\n
But GGI took the Planning Authority to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, arguing that it had incorrectly characterised the nature of the proposed development.<\/p>\n
The Tribunal agreed and overturned the refusals in August, sending the DAs back to the Planning Authority for assessment. ACAT has just published its reasons.<\/p>\n
It found that the DA documents made it clear that the proposals were for commercial accommodation, namely a motel.<\/p>\n
It said many of the proposal elements of concern to the Planning Authority, such as the building configuration, mailboxes, lack of a check-in facility, and extra parking, were consistent with a modern motel, and not inconsistent with the Crown lease or the Territory Plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the concept of motel in the Territory Plan picks up the Macquarie Dictionary definition of \u2018roadside hotel which provides accommodation for travellers in self-contained, serviced units, with parking for their vehicle\u2019, then this is also picked up by the use of the term in the DAs,\u201d ACAT said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, in our view, the DAs were for commercial accommodation, which is a motel. As such, they were not for a prohibited development under PRZ2 \u2013 Restricted Access Recreation Zone of the Territory Plan and could be dealt with in the merit track.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Tribunal said this did not mean the proposals should or could have been approved.<\/p>\n
\u201cDecisions need to be made in relation to the DAs under section 162 of the Planning and Development Act,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
The proponent said it would wait to see if the Planning Authority would appeal the decision before commenting.<\/p>\n
An ACT Government spokesperson said the Planning Authority understood and respected the decision and would consider consider appropriate next steps.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ACAT decision did not order that the original proposals should or could have been approved,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRather, the ruling noted that decisions made in relation to the development applications must be made under section 162 of the Planning and Development Act 2007.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Nicholls Residents Group, which has fought the club\u2019s development plans, said it would need to assess the implications of the decision before commenting.<\/p>\n
A ninth DA sought to subdivide the land, but this fell foul of the National Capital Authority\u2019s hills and buffer rules and was refused in October last year.<\/p>\n
The residents group said at the time that it meant the other DAs could not stand, but GGI could lodge a Reconsideration changing the boundaries of the subdivision.<\/p>\n
The Konstantinou Group bought the Gold Creek Country Club from the ACT Government for $3 million in 2005.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An artist\u2019s impression of the development proposed by Gold Creek Country Club. Image: Cox Architecture. The Konstantinou Group\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237210,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-237209","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-golf","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}