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11 Comments

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1. This is completely inappropriate. It is out of character for the street which is mainly single family dwellings with some dual occupancy sites. 8 houses on a standard size residential block is not in keeping with the character of the street or the character of Helensburgh which is a small semi rural town, not a high density city suburb. The parking alone will present significant issues for neighbours and the neighbouring streets as Helensburgh does not have good public transport and most, if not all families have a minimum of 2 cars. Something like this is more suited to the centre of town next to the unit developments not on a quiet residential road.

2. Over the 40 years I have lived here, lots have been subdivided, so we have houses behind houses, then duplexes, townhouses and units and now Council is going to allow 8 strata title homes on a quiet residential street lot. Our country feel town village is being ruined by developers, Helensburgh does not have the infrastructure to accomodate such an influx of people. Build a new house on this lot and Stop the greed.

3. Greed is a nasty word . Non constructive comments should not be tolerated on a public forum let alone uneducated ill informed posts. Yeah the same developer that has contributed over $100,000,s to the local community in the last few years . Including Helensburgh thistle soccer club , Helensburgh cricket , Helensburgh fair , Helensburgh rugby league , netball . Surf club , all schools , local families in need, etc And over 15 community events in addition to contributing locally to almost all locals, clubs, events , charities that ask . Without the so called developer many local clubs and events would not exist . Not too mention over 20 hours a week of community service also. A lot of negative voices without any real knowledge of the community support. where is your community spirit / assistance other then ridiculous small minded comments .

4. Parking is already proving to be a significant issue since the duplexes were built in Sawan Lane. 8 new dwellings would be detrimental to the quiet and friendly Street.

5. This type of “development” is nowhere in sympathy with the Helensburgh “Village” style of improvement. We have a Wollongong council planning to do work to the town centre area to make it a more attractive area, and in sympathy with the town history, and then allowing buildings as proposed in this development, which is fostering the idea of more dense population.
   Any person who looks at the streetscape around Helensburgh where development has been allowed in recent years finds that the streets are crowded with parked residents cars, and though the developments include car parking, many people park in the street because there are inadequate parking for the number of residents in the units/town houses.

6. The block of land is not suitable for 8 units and does not fit within the overall style of Helensburgh. Multiple duplexes have been built recently in this street or nearby and unfortunately, completely removing the charm the area used to have. There is no adequate parking and footpaths, and the units do not fit within the overall style of the town. The space should be used for a freestanding house with a backyard and not crowded apartment blocks.

7. As a land owner in Sawan Lane, I have a several concerns in regards to the development proposal at 14 Laurina Avenue, Helensburgh, they are parking, traffic flow and stormwater.
   Im sure this development complies with council standards but to add 8 houses to where there was once only 1 will lead to more parking problems in the the area. Another duplex was recently completed opposite this site so where there was once 2 residence's there will now be 10! Cars parking on Laurina Avenue will lead to further difficulties navigating the intersection of Boomerang Street and Laurina Avenue. Laurina Avenue is a busy road with cars accessing the preschool on the corner of Excelsa Avenue and Laurina Avenue, Rex Jackson ovals and bush tracks at the end of Laurina Avenue. With more cars parked on the side of the road Laurina Avenue will be reduced to a single lane with reduced visibility.
   During construction of this lot, I assume Sawan lane will be used for access. Sawan Lane once had 3 properties using it, it now has 7. The lane is only wide enough for 2 vehicles (no bigger than a 4wd) to pass side by side in a short 15m portion of the the lane, the rest of the lane way is single lane only. Residents have no other access to their homes and may be prevented from entering or leaving their place of residence if Sawan Lane is to be used for access during or after construction. Further to this, the laneway was asphalted around 2009 after a drainage problem arose after the development at 6 Laurina Ave. Insufficient drainage was put in place which caused the stormwater to overflow in to Sawan Lane and 3 and 3a Sawan Lane. To rectify this council laid a 20mm asphalt seal to the lane with a swale on the high side to divert the water. I do not believe this asphalt will stand up to added traffic and will lead to flooding again if the laneway is used for access during or after construction at 14 Laurina Avenue. Council or the developer will need to upgrade the lane to accommodate extra traffic.

8. The block of land is not suitable for 8 units and does not fit within the overall style of Helensburgh. I moved to this lovely town to leave a busy, overpopulated and over developed area. Multiple duplexes have been built recently in this street or nearby and this does not fit with the town. There no footpaths or adequate parking nearby, and the units do not fit within the overall style of the town. The space should be used for a freestanding house with a backyard and not crowded apartment blocks. This beautiful town should not be allowed to become over populated and over developed. It isn't fair for the shopping and public transport we have here and local residents.

9. I have a several concerns in regards to the development proposal at 14 Laurina Avenue, Helensburgh.

   If this complies with council standards then something is seriously wrong with the standards.

   Road widths won't cope with the number of extra cars parked on street parking.

   An 8 dwelling structure is completely at odds with the area.

   The greed of one property owner should not trump the wishes of all other owners.
   Whilst the developer stands to make money neighbours stand to have their property devalued by it.

   There does not seem to be an urgent and huge demand for extra housing in the area.

   If a property is subdivided it would be reasonable to expect the community to accept it as progress. But 1 to 8 is too far.

10. There is hundreds of good quality quarter acre blocks suitable for housing in the council arrested Dp2644. The land is freehold and council should not have hoodwinked owners in their sleezy land pooling scheme and States Helensburgh big plan in 1989. In stead these day's they seem proud to allow development on blocks around the village without any environmental improvements.

11. As a resident who uses Laurina Avenue daily to access my house, I am disappointed that this local developer is trying for what can clearly be seen as an over-development of the site at 14 Laurina Avenue.

    My personal reasons for objecting to this development relate to the issues of safety, environmental and the lack of beautification of the project.

    This development is to occur on the already dangerous bend of Boomerang Street and Laurina Avenue. The increased traffic flow in the past two years from the new bike track, Kids Korner Pre-School, the increased amount of sporting activities on the ovals both weekends and evenings and the activities of the local club, has prompted me to use the word dangerous. If you approach this bend from Parkes Street and try to proceed down Laurina, you can only do this safely if no other car is heading in the direction of Parkes Street. If a car is approaching in the opposite direction, one car must stop and pull over behind cars already parked on Laurina as it effectively has made Laurina Avenue a one lane street near this bend. This is only going to worsen and become more dangerous with the development. The other traffic issue is cars leaving Boomerang Street to proceed to Parkes Street. These cars firstly go too fast and secondly approach the bend on the wrong side of the road as the road has no kerb and guttering, has numerous broken edges of the road surface and many potholes. It is a relatively sharp bend and since drivers have no obligation to give way to any other drivers, other than drivers exiting Laurina Avenue towards Parkes Street, there is a total trust system in place, that everyone is going to be 100 percent sure of what every other driver is going to do. I understand no developer can be responsible for all road users yet the reason I am stressing on this point is that there is now a real consideration to add a development right on the bend. I am no safety expert but there is a very real perceived risk of an incident regardless of severity, may occur on this bend.

    As for the environmental aspect of this project, and based on the landscape plan submitted to council, the majority of plants are Blue Agapanthus (85 to be exact). Given the area near the development is in close proximity to bush land (as most of Helensburgh is), the way the landscape plan is presented does not take into consideration the active wildlife we have in the area. The native animals and birds we have in the vicinity of Laurina, Excelsa and Rajani Roads are an asset to our community. Both day and night, many species of wildlife can be seen using our trees and gardens as corridors to move safely from one place to another. I cannot see anywhere in the landscape plan of this development where the wildlife has been taken into consideration. This is an environmental issue and one I believe needs addressing with wildlife experts.

    Lastly, the actual look and feel of the development is very concerning to say the least. I will only stress on one aspect to bring this to the attention of the application committee. The façade on the front property boundary has a blank wall. In extremely simple terms – it just looks ugly, put there for no other reason than it needs to be there and is completely out of place.

    This development is totally over the top for the site and I would like to see some serious consideration taken to avoid this project being approved in its current development application state.

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