PlanningAlerts

14 Comments

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1. Is it possible to ensure basement parking has
   2 spaces per unit
   visitor parking
   delivery parking

2. I am concerned that the proposed development will cause even more congestion in an already very congested part of Sydney. Our local roads are full of cars emptied out by (or avoiding) Westconnex. There is competition for street parking already, without adding more apartments and cars. It takes 10 minutes to get out of Leichhardt - either via the City West Link or Paramatta Road or narrow streets via Annandale. This development will result in yet more impact on the quality of life for everyone in nearby streets.

3. There are no details setting out traffic management or access to the site and impact on residents close by. 186 units is over extending the capability of the site and bears no consideration on the impact on the already stretched infrastructure. Yes 300m to light rail which is already heavily utilized. No mention of providing car share options with GoGet for example.

4. A proposal of this magnitude in such a high density residential area would be catastrophic.
   Whilst the Pre DA contains little information about the proposed development, the cost specific suggests it will be quite significant.
   Existing parking for residents in William and surrounding streets is almost stretched to capacity. There have been a number of new townhouse built in Elswick St and it appears that like many other residences in the area, they have multiple vehicles in each household.
   Since the expansion of the light rail to Dulwich Hill we now have motorists driving to leichhardt from the western suburbs, parking their cars in our local streets all day to take the light rail into the city, leaving residents sometimes with small children having to park streets away.
   In addition due to the WestCONnex construction parking conditions and restrictions have changed on Darley Road and Lilyfield Road and this will exist for a number of years. This has resulted in boats, trailer and caravans which are regularly parked on both of these streets, now being parked in local streets sometimes for months on end again reducing and limiting the parking opportunities for local residents. In William Street alone there are currently 9 boats and 3 trailers and two camper vans some severely restricting safe visibility for vehicles exiting garages.
   As a result of the lengthy delays on the City West Link from Darley Road, motorists are now rat running local streets trying to reach their destinations and the CWL quicker and this is resulting in a huge bank up of traffic on William Street.
   Should there be a major construction on this site, there would be a further significant impact on traffic flow in local streets. It can take up to 10-15 minutes to get from William Street to the City West Link which is just one street away from the City West Link.
   The iconic Cyclops Toy Factory adjoins the site proposed for development. Depending on the height of the proposed development, the apartments on the western side of the building would loose all of their light and this level of construction would make living in this building unbearable and almost impossible.
   I would ask Council to seriously consider not approving any major development for this site.

5. I am a local resident and agree 100% with the concerns raised by Jennifer Aaron and the others above. This area already suffers from significant traffic and parking congestion and this development would exacerbate this to a level that would dramatically reduce the area’s live ability.

6. My husband and I have recently moved into the area (William Street) and have been struck by the traffic congestion and the limited opportunities for street parking at virtually any time of the day. Access to the City West Link is slow for many hours each day, even though we are only one street away. We are concerned that a development of the size proposed on the Metro Storage site will severely exacerbate the current traffic problems as well as the already limited parking in the surrounding streets.

   The construction of 186 units is an extraordinarily large number for this site. The amount of excavation to build at least 2 floors of underground parking will be significant and have a direct impact on adjoining properties to the site. If, as indicated on the drawings currently submitted, the William Street roadway is designated a flood affected area, then Council must exercise great care before approving a huge development which could expose residents to flooding in the case of extreme weather events.

   In addition, depending on the height of the development, it will affect the light and general amenity of the adjoining residences.

   We urge Council not to approve a development of the scale proposed.

7. Strongly support this development. It’s right next to the light rail so residents’ complaints about traffic and parking are invalid - if it were built anywhere else it would make traffic even worse because the new residents wouldn’t have public transport options. We really need more housing in the inner west.

8. Major concern for me is traffic and parking on local streets. In line with comments above, Westconnex has put a standstill to this pocket of Leichhardt due to the new phasing of traffic lights at City West Link. Likewise, parking is already impossible in the surrounding streets, all units would need to have access to sufficient parking that reflects the demands of owners/tenants.

9. As a local resident, traffic around the area has been significantly impacted by westconnex and it’s already very hard to get in and out of a Leichhardt via darley road. I don’t disagree with flats being built on this location but ask the council to consider traffic And parking impacts when reviewing the proposal. 186 separate dwellings seems overly excessive and will have a material negative impact on current residents.

10. I would like to agree with all comments made by others. How much parking is to be allocated for each apartment and their visitors? Will there be off street parking for deliveries? Will there be extra public transport options made for the huge influx of people into an area already bursting at the seams. Are there enough school places for an overnight addition of school age children? I believe there needs to be a lot more information about the proposed development before it is approved.

11. This is simply over development.
    Yes develop but not to this extent. You cannot get on the light rail at peak times. As for more cars and yes people will gave cars, this will cause more traffic woes in the area.

12. My main concerns are with parking for a development of this scale. On a small 2 lot subdivision at 9 Thornely Street, Leichhardt, I asked Council why it had approved 2 new dwellings with NO PARKING. There used to be a driveway at the old house at 9 Thornley Street with parking for 2 cars so 2 car spaces have just been deleted. This is on a street one block from Norton Street, one block from Parramatta Road and with a Pre-School facility further down the street. I'd hazard a guess that the new occupants will bring at least 2 - 4 additional cars to the street when they move in and there is nowhere for these cars to be parked. Council's reply to me was,

    "Council's controls seek to reduce the reliance on private vehicles to minimise traffic. The controls do not require new dwellings to provide car parking. The site is within the Parking scheme area and the new dwellings will not benefit from the scheme."

    Whilst I absolutely agree that reliance on cars must be greatly reduced, I fail to see how, in the absence of any significant investment in public transport, there can be a direct correlation between providing no parking and reducing reliance on private vehicles? People will continue to use their cars but parking will become an absolute nightmare. Why should Leichhardt residents put up with the continued destruction of their amenity by having their streets clogged with more and more cars? And a lack of parking in our suburb impacts upon the shops and local businesses too.

    I fear that Council's plans are just to encourage as much development as possible with as little parking as possible whilst trying to justify their flawed vision which makes no sense to the average person.

    186 units = potentially 186 or more additional cars.

13. The development at this site needs to take into account the generally low density domestic houses and town houses in the area. Other than the building to be developed the surrounding area is suburban without any significant commercial development. Important factors are:
    - the height on the eastern site of the building needs to take into account the 5 windows on the western wall of the existing Cyclops building that are critical for light and ventilation
    - any assessment of the impact to traffic and transport must take into account the yet to be developed Epicure site on Allen St of 139 additional apartments yet to be absorbed by the small road network or light rail
    - the property is bounded by North St to the west which is essentially a one lane street, completely congested at all times, the overflow going to Elswick St where the recently refurbished St Columba primary school will be negatively impacted by traffic and parking overflow from the new development
    - to the east of the site Francis St is a no through road forcing any additional traffic back into the William St corridor
    - William St intersection with Norton St is the entry point into the network of the buses from Leichhardt bus station already creating significant congestion
    - Darley St further to the north does not cope well with peak hour congestion and will be stretched by the addition of 139 apartments at Epicure, let alone 186 more households which is the scale of the current proposal
    - the Light Rail is also already at risk of loosing its reputation that so enhances Leichhardt given its inabilility to deal with current capacity let alone cope with these additional developments at Leichardt North, Hawthorn Canal, Taverners Hill and the increased density of development at Summer Hill
    I am not against the development of the site, it is just the scale & density that is concerning. 187 apartments in the current footprint given the surrounding area and road capacity is too many

14. This proposal is massive overdevelopment of this site.

    The LEP dictates a FSR of 0.5 :1. Council Planning staff indicated the only way this could be exceeded would be for the proposnet to adaptively reuse the building.

    The concept design documents show that the proponent is pretending to adaptively reuse the building by maintaining the street facades, in reality the proposal is to build a new apartment complex behind and particularly above the existing facades. It is for much more than 3500m2 of livable area. (Site area is about 7000m2). I can't find a reference in the documents but the proposed FSR must be 2 to 2.5!

    They are proposing 186 one, two and three bedroom units! The carpark access appears to be off Francis St, using the same driveway I and my neighbours need to use to access our garages! I think traffic lights will be required. The noise of cars arriving and departing all day and night will be intolerable. The carpark is to be constructed in two basement levels, both below the low point on the flood affected site!

    The architects have picked the highest points on the various street facades and used that to justify very tall structures across the site. At the eastern boundary (adjacent to us) the ground is much lower (immediately outside our bedroom!). The building proposed to be constructed about 9m from my boundary is three complete floors taller than our house and taller than the current building. It might be hidden from William St but this building will massively overlook our house (along with our neighbours). residents on upper floors will be able to watch us eat at the kitchen table! Balconies are positioned looking directly at our bedroom windows!

    I am very disappointed that, given the scale of the proposal, Council didn't immediately engage with potentially affected residents. It would seem that the developer is trying to use the pre DA process to negotiate a position with council without council having the benefit of the community's views.

    What is proposed is not adaptive reuse, it is a modern apartment complex being disguised by the existing William St Facade.

    I am not opposed to the development of the site. However, the developer needs to play by the rules. A 0.5FSR, if they are going to build a new apartment complex (as proposed). Or they need to use and stay inside the current walls and under the roof heights of the existing building if they wish to go down the adaptive reuse route.

    The current level of amenity and privacy of existing residents needs to be maintained.

    The site is clearly not large enough to accomodate the 186 units (337 bedrooms) proposed.

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