Kiama’s Lions Cottage is facing an uncertain future due to the prospect of high-rise development for the Shoalhaven Street Precinct.

The Cottage is within the northern border of the two-hectare NSW Government-led rezoning proposal for the Kiama Council-owned Precinct.

It has been leased to the Lions Club since members rejuvenated the derelict cottage in 2017 and after opening in December the following year, it has operated as a respite service for carers, providing short-term accommodation.

The current lease for the Cottage runs until November 2029, however the facility could be under threat if plans to turn the area into a 450-home development come to fruition.

The Lions Club has entered a detailed submission to the NSW Planning Department’s online feedback portal on the Precinct, which has been declared a State Significant Development, outlining why it is such a valuable community asset and that “any rezoning decisions ensure the protection of the facilities ongoing use as a respite centre”.

A Council spokesperson said “the Cottage and its property are wholly owned by Kiama Municipal Council and leased to the Lions Club, which rents the cottage to respite carers or on the open market.

“Currently, the land is zoned E4 General Industrial under the Kiama Local Environmental Plan consistent with the rest of the precinct. This is not appropriate zoning for a residential building.”

Kiama Mayor Cameron McDonald has reiterated no development can occur until rezoning is complete, no Development Application has been lodged and the images of a 450-home development during the NSW Government’s exhibition are illustrative only.

Lions Club members from Kiama, Gerringong and Minnamurra, transformed the abandoned cottage eight years ago with help from local businesses and community groups, and volunteer work by tradespeople and residents.

It is used by families throughout the Illawarra for respite and for no more than 52 days annually, it is booked out as an Airbnb to help fund its running costs.

Lions Cottage manager Cheryl Moses said the building’s restoration was pretty much all done by volunteer labour and donations.

“It provides respite for carers. That's the ultimate aim of this cottage,” she said.

“Sometimes the carers themselves come if they can arrange care for the person they're looking after at their own place. Other times they bring the person with them and have a lovely holiday here.

“The carers pay a very nominal amount. It's not a money-making venture at all. It's all about providing care. The holiday bookings help pay for maintenance. Without that, we definitely would make a loss.”

Moses hopes when Council and the State Government finalise their plans for the Precinct that the Cottage is spared from the wrecking ball.

“It would be a shame to see this demolished. I would love to see it stay as it is,” she said.

“If that's not possible, I would hope that Council could compensate us somehow with one or two of the units that are going up in the new place.”

Fellow Kiama Lions Club member, Deirdre Backhouse, is also the co-ordinator of the Illawarra ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia and Long COVID Support Group and she said the feedback from carers who use the Cottage was universally appreciative.

“For a lot of people in our group, we really, really, really want to be looking after the carers. And if they can access things like the carers' cottage, it's life-saving for some of them,” she said.

“Carers are desperate to find anything that they possibly can to have respite. They're literally crying to me.”

She added that due to Kiama’s population having a median age of 48 in the 2021 Census, nearly a decade higher than the state average, there is huge demand for facilities such as Lions Cottage.

Deirdre’s husband, Ian, is also a Lions Club member and the Kiama Surf Life Saving Club boat captain.

He said the land where the Cottage is situated was also used for Lions Club’s Return and Earn recycling program, which nets up to $10,000 a year to fund local projects, and a shipping container is also kept on site which houses a lot of the equipment they need for its work in the community.

“That money is channelled back into community assistance or assisting other needy groups,” he explained.

“So the depot is a really important part of our operation.”

The NSW Government is on a mission to drastically increase the housing supply statewide and the plans for in-fill development at Shoalhaven Street and three multi-storey proposals for Akuna Street are causing angst in the Kiama community.

Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said the Government’s recent planning reforms would not disregard the opinions of councils.

“Local voices will always be included in decision making for planning but the Minns Labor Government has made housing, housing access and affordability our priority,” she said.

“People need to be able to access affordable rental properties, they need to be able to access affordable properties to buy, particularly in regional communities which are also bearing the brunt of the housing crisis that we face across NSW.

“As a state government we are using every possible option at our disposal to make sure housing is available to everybody in NSW and that everybody has a chance to live affordably close to where they work and to where their families are.”

Kiama Council advises that detailed planning, including building heights, design, traffic, parking, and public consultation, will occur later through the normal DA and Development Control Plan processes.

If and when the land is rezoned, Council will consult with the community on designs and outcomes and future provisions for charity clients.