Draft Tourism Accommodation Review
Consultation has concluded
We're seeking input into a review of planning controls for tourism accommodation.
Visitors come to Wollongong for a variety of reasons including, holidays, visiting friends and relatives, education, work, sporting and cultural events, beaches, the natural environment, medical appointments, conferences and weddings. There is a greater local economic benefit if visitors stay overnight or longer, rather than being a day visitor from Sydney.
Tourism accommodation takes many forms, including hotels and motels, bed and breakfast, backpacker accommodation, serviced apartments, holiday lettings, farm-stay, caravan parks and camping grounds.
There are currently 75 tourist accommodation establishments within the Wollongong LGA, providing an estimated 1766 rooms, 213 cabins and 547 powered and unpowered camping and caravanning sites each night, which can cater for over 6000 guests.
In addition, short-term rental accommodation is being offered in dwelling houses and units by the owners.
The available accommodation primarily serves a domestic tourism market (travel within Australia). As the domestic tourism market grows, there is demand for additional accommodation venues to be provided.
Many international visitors come for education and stay for longer periods.
The Wollongong Local Environmental Plan 2009 permits a range of tourism accommodation types throughout the LGA. However, the opportunities are not often taken up. The SP3 Tourist zone is used for a range of uses, many not tourism related.
Tourism accommodation venues face increasing pressure to close and redevelop as residential developments, through a combination of high costs, better financial returns for residential development, and more recently the impact on travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Longer term, there is a need for more accommodation venues and to encourage investment into existing facilities. This study proposes measures to encourage the retention of existing establishments and the development of new accommodation establishments, including:
- Permitting Hotel and Motel Accommodation in the R1 General Residential zone, that surrounds the Wollongong City Centre.
- Increasing the floor space ratio for hotel and motel accommodation by 0.5:1
- Reviewing the SP3 Tourist zone on some sites.
- Reviewing the zoning on particular sites.
To provide feedback on the draft Tourism Accommodation Review – Discussion Paper:
- Complete the feedback form
- Email records@wollongong.nsw.gov.au
- Write to General Manager, Wollongong City Council, Locked Bag 8821 Wollongong DC 2500
- Phone (02) 4227 7111
Let us know your thoughts by Thursday 30 September 2021.
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If you’re Deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment, you can contact us through the National Relay Service. If you need an interpreter, you can contact us through the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450. You’ll need to provide our phone number (02) 4227 7111 for either service.