Cooks Cove

Cooks Cove consists of two precincts, the Northern Precinct and the Southern Precinct. I refer to them as Cooks Cove North and Cooks Cove South. I have marked their approximate extent on a Google satellite shot.

Cooks Cove North is the site of a golf course, operated by Kogarah Golf Club which owns about half the site (KGC has already moved once and was previously located in Kogarah).

Cooks Cove South is an area consisting of playing fields, walking tracks, bike paths, wetlands and a golf driving range. It also has some undeveloped and underused areas. The area is habitat to a number of migratory bird species including the critically endangered curlew sandpiper. The iconic Green and Golden Bell Frog is also present in the area.

There have been various plans to develop Cooks Cove North and move the golf course to Cooks Cove South. Here is a quick history:

• 2004: Sydney Regional Environment Plan 33 - Cooks Cove is released. This is an official NSW government plan to develop a technology park in Cooks Cove North and move most of the golf course to Cooks Cove South.
• 2005: A development application is submitted to implement SREP 33.
• 2006: The development application is approved.
• 2008: The Global Financial Crisis starts.
• 2009: The development of the technology park is abandoned.
• 2016: A new development application is submitted for development of Cooks Cove North and golf course relocation to Cooks Cove South. But instead of a technology park, the proposed development consists mostly of high-rise apartment.
• 2017: The developer withdraws the development application. The DA was deficient in a number of ways and attracted a lot of opposition. The zoning of Cooks Cove South turned out to be show-stopper.
• 2018: The NSW Department of Planning proposes an amendment to SREP 33 to change the zoning of Cooks Cove South and thereby remove one obstacle that caused the 2016 DA to fail.
• 2018: The developer behind the 2016 proposal returned with a new concept proposal which also proposed to develop Cooks Cove North and relocate the golf course to Cooks Cove South. The Bayside Planning Panel recommended against the proposal and then Bayside Council voted to not support the proposal.

This site is dedicated to saving Cooks Cove South. For now the people have won. But we must remain vigilant.