Tamworth council says it'll keep a close eye on Majestic housing project

Majestic Tamworth is a proposed "lifestyle community" in Hillvue which is planning to build 98 "premium villas" designed for over 50's looking to downsize.

Councillors discussed the housing development's 20-month history of noncompliance during their most recent meeting earlier this week.

"Are council staff convinced [the developer] will abide by the relevant approvals and authorisations they need to progress?" Cr Mark Rodda asked.

"Are we confident the buildings will be structurally sound so once they're constructed and the warranty is over people can be confident they're residing in buildings that are stable?"

Tamworth mayor Russell Webb said he "had similar concerns" before looking into the development himself, and referred the question to council's director of liveable communities, Gina Vereker.

The senior staff member said while there had been challenges in getting Majestic Lifestyle Resorts to build the houses at 7 Longyard Drive in a compliant manner, council would continue working to ensure all rules were followed.

Ms Vereker said "the action we've taken to date" should be enough to keep the developer in line and prevent any further issues from occurring.

"But we can't be sure, we can never be sure. That's why we have the means at our disposal to take action if we need to," she said.

A council spokesperson previously told the Leader the developer had not been fined for noncompliance but the option remains available if needed.

Tamworth Regional Council's manager of development Sam Lobsey was also asked to address councillor's concerns.

He spoke specifically on the three mostly-completed houses which started construction in January without obtaining any approvals.

"In relation to the three dwellings, yes we can look at that in a different light and look at things like building information certificates and requesting further certification on what's already been built out there," Mr Lobsey said.

He said going forward council staff would routinely inspect the planning documents and compliance certifications for each individual new house built on the site.

Deputy mayor Judy Coates closed the debate by saying after more than 18 months of back-and-forth between the developer and the local government it was time to move forward and look to the project's future.

"Sometimes we have to be flexible in the way we do things and sometimes we have to be guided by what is for the better good," Cr Coates said.

"This is a risk we take with any development we approve, and we need to acknowledge that."

She also asked for council staff to provide updates on the results of any and all compliance checks made in relation to the development so councillors could stay informed of any issues.