The former clay pit is located in Thornton, NSW, 8km south-east of Maitland and 20km north-west of Newcastle. Operating as a brickworks since 1882, the Haussman Drive site was bought by construction materials company CSR in 1969. It has lain dormant since 2006, when quarrying activities ceased and the brickworks closed.
Property development business The McCloy Group purchased the site in 2017, and lodged a development application (DA) with Maitland City Council in November.
The DA requests to transform the site into a 156-unit retirement village, complete with a community centre, lawn bowls area, playground and other community facilities.
“Because the site was previously used as a clay quarry, [the area] is significantly disturbed, with the remnants of excavation from quarrying activities still visible,” it noted. “These include drainage basins and steeply excavated slopes.”
“[To accommodate this], the majority of villas will be single-storey, with some provided as ‘unders and overs’ to accommodate the slope of the site.”
The proposed project’s value is worth an estimated $20 million. Approval will be forwarded to McCloy Group’s consent authority the Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP) after community submissions close on 15 May.
A McCloy Group spokesperson confirmed to Quarry the DA was before council and awaiting approval.
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