NT construction giant Sitzler has secretly proposed a 200-bed workers camp in Katherine that local residents say does not comply with the local planning scheme and could have severe consequences for the area, while the NT Government and the company have remained silent about the proposal and the unusual development processes employed.

Sitzler has proposed building the massive workers camp on Landsdowne Road – on a block of agricultural land it recently reportedly purchased for more than $1 million – across from RAAF Base Tindal, where the company is contracted to undertake massive upgrade works at the military base.

The confidential detailed site plan document for the development, obtained by the NT Independent, shows more than two dozen individual demountables, a gym, a recreation building, laundry, barbecuing areas and a massive kitchen and cold store building.

Residents are concerned the secrecy around the proposed development means it will be approved by Infrastructure Minister Eva Lawler through ministerial powers, bypassing proper planning processes and before the company has addressed local residents’ concerns.

“This concern has been amplified because of the absence of information available about the planning pathway the proposal would take,” said local resident Kathryn Whitehouse, who is involved with a group of a dozen residents who live in the area opposed to the proposed workers camp.

“There is great concern in the community that the proposal would run roughshod over local decision-making and democratic processes.”

The residents say they are also concerned about the effect the 200-bed development would have on an aquifer in the area, as well as expressed concerns the structure itself could eventually be used by the NT Government “in the same manner as the Howard Springs” centre for emergency or flood displaced residents from remote communities.

Ms Lawler, the department and Sitzler refused to answer questions about the development.

The land on which the proposed camp would be built off Landsdowne Road is currently zoned for agricultural purposes under the NT Planning Scheme.

The NT Independent understands that Sitzler applied for an amendment to the planning scheme for an exception to planning rules that would not require development approval before moving ahead with the project.

However, Ms Lawler personally intervened to refuse that application less than two weeks ago on the grounds that the process would not be conducive to addressing community concerns, but left the door open for Sitzler to lodge an application for an Exceptional Development Permit.

If the company applies for an EDP, a 28-day public exhibition process would be instituted, however it would not require approval from the Development Consent Authority the way a standard development application would to go ahead. The decision to grant an exceptional permit would be made solely by Ms Lawler.

Ms Whitehouse said the development process the company is undertaking with the government undermines public confidence in the planning system and has referred the matter to ICAC. She said a Sitzler representative told a group of residents last month that he was certain the project would go ahead without going through the proper development processes.

“It is important that all decisions on planning matters are undertaken in the public interest and follow due planning process,” Ms Whitehouse said.

“A decision to approve a proposal outside a rules-based system erodes confidence in our Planning System, brings its administrators into disrepute and threatens the integrity of the Planning Act 1999 and the Northern Territory Planning Scheme 2020.”

Ms Whitehouse also said Katherine Town Council had offered Sitzler land to lease at the airport for the workers camp and that there are a number of different parcels owned by the NT Government that would be more suitable for a 200-bed structure.

She also said Sitzler had other land it had recently purchased that could be used for the development.

“Sitzler have not engaged with all property owners and not exhausted all available options to have the proposed development elsewhere from Lansdowne Road,” she said.

“Tindal RAAF Base is the largest Air Force base in Australia. This proposed development is solely to accommodate workers that are contracted to work at Tindal. The development should be built on the Base, or other suitable locations, not on Lansdowne Road land that is not compliant with the Scheme and because there is a real risk of causing PFAS contamination.”

The Department of Defence also declined to answer questions about the proposed workers camp development.