New revelations in controversial “Cooks Cove” development
A two-month long investigation conducted by the University of Technology Sydney’s Central News team has revealed that the controversial Cooks Cove development in Sydney’s Bayside area continues to face significant delays due to a range of political, community and environmental pushbacks. The project — conceived by developer John Boyd — hopes to transform the old Kogarah Golf Course and adjacent Crown land into an upmarket residential and sporting complex, described by supporters as a new “mini-Darling Harbour”.
Freedom of Information laws granted the Central News team access to previously unseen documents, including minutes from Council meetings. The documents revealed that local Councillors, developers and the Westconnex group had all worked together to fast-track the project, however the Roads and Maritime Service, the NSW Office of Heritage & the Environment and more recently, the Federal Department of the Environment have all intervened, expressing serious concerns about both traffic and environmental impacts.
The project’s latest adversary is a tiny native amphibian: the endangered green-and-golden bellfrog, known to inhabit the protected wetlands in and around the development site.
Nic talked with the News team’s lead investigator – Associate Professor of Journalism at UTS Tom Morton – about the numerous barriers confronting this multi-million dollar project on the shores of Sydney’s Cooks River.
