2 Blenheim Street Queens Park NSW 2022

Dear Waverley Council. Another Californian bungalow is being demolished for a block of units. The area is losing its character rapidly. The design of this development is completely out of character with many surrounding buildings, particularly the terrace next to it. There is inadequate setback. There will be impacts on traffic and amenity.
This also brings into context the fact that council allows unsympathetic renovations that are then used as an excuse later on to demolish and develop.
There is no overarching policy about traffic management. The ever increasing density of the Waverley area and the eastern suburbs in general due to developments such as this is causing unacceptable traffic congestion, environmental degradation and increasing air pollution, not to mention the strain on infrastructure, schools and transport.

Dear Waverley Council. While I appreciate there is a need to increase the amount of affordable housing across Sydney, that need cannot override the obligation to maintain and preserve the historical and aesthetic value of existing dwellings and communities. Greater thought needs to be given by local Councils how to accommodate growing populations while not destroying the existing look and value of the community.

Blenheim Street is a narrow, one-way street and already receives a disproportionate amount of traffic. It has a number of sandstone one and two storey dwellings that are of historical importance. While some previous councils have allowed some of the original dwellings to be knocked down or altered out of keeping with the rest of the street, we cannot allow past mistakes to be the litmus test for what is acceptable today. The passing of a 3-4 storey Boarding House on the corner of Blenheim Street and Birrell Street is sad enough and now the proposal is to put up another 3 storey apartment block next to it. One, let alone two, three storey high-density apartment blocks is simply not acceptable for this small street. The block of land itself, is too small for the number of proposed apartments. What is the land-to-building ratio? While the sandstone terrace it neighbours must have its access to light negatively impacted if this proposal goes ahead, it will be an eye-sore for all residences on this narrow street. It also possibly sets an unacceptable precedent for the street as a whole. It is forcing high density living onto a small artery. For example, I note there are no parking spots in the plans which will only add to the considerable parking stress that is already present.

While to the east of the proposed dwelling there is an existing 2/3 storey apartment block, it must be noted that that one borders onto Bronte Road which is a considerably wider and mixed purpose street than Blenheim.

I plead with the Councillors not to allow all parts of Waverley Municipality to lose its charm. I feel that future generations will look back at decisions to allow these types of developments to proceed with sadness and disbelief.

There needs to be strict conditions preventing AirBNB or hotel style boarding house operations on this site. It is not a tourist zone it is a heritage conservation zone and a residential zone. It one thing for Council allowing developers higher profits by approving multi-storey projects where they don’t have to provide parking in an area that already has parking problems, the other is the use of this property as a backpacking style development. There must be restrictions on the number of tourists allowed to live in this facility. There are better locations for clandestine Hotels. Many Boarding house applications are scams if the occupation conditions are wrong or can be changed by their operators in the future.