18 Baldwin Avenue Asquith NSW 2077 Australia

According to the Hornsby Shire Housing Strategy the designated housing form for the Baldwin Avenue and Stokes Avenue precincts is townhouses. This application is for units and given that the Development Control is for medium density, I am assuming that these will be 3 storey.

Cars entering and leaving this development will do so via Baldwin Avenue.This is a very busy pedestrian area at peak hour as high school students enter and leave the adjoining high school and primary school students make their way to and from school in the adjoining streets. This end of Baldwin Avenue forms part of the ever increasing commuter parking area around Asquith Station. The scale of off-street parking is reaching dangerous and unacceptable levels. Many people who live near stations beyond Asquith park here because the stopping patterns of the trains mean that Asquith has a more regular service.

Putting units on these 4 blocks instead of townhouses significantly increases the number of dwellings, which in turn, significantly increases the number of vehicles in an already congested area.

Discounting the Heritage Listed house on the corner of Baldwin and Royston, there are 22 parcels of land to develop in the precinct. This application only represents 4 of these parcels. I wonder how many more parcels of land that should have townhouses on them will also be earmarked for units, contrary to the Housing Development Strategy?

The housing strategy already recognises the poor connectivity between areas east and west of the railway line and that housing development in this precinct will increase traffic movements. This precinct is within 1 km of two primary schools and two high schools. Traffic on Royston Parade is already at capacity at peak hour and there are regular tailbacks over the bridge as traffic tries to filter on to the Pacific Highway. Tailbacks also occur where drivers try to right turn in to Dudley Street off Royston since cars are able to park opposite this junction and traffic cannot flow around the car waiting to turn. There is no signalisation at Kuring-gai Chase Road/Royston Road intersection and traffic jams of cars waiting to turn right on to Kuring-gai Chase road often form and tail back past Asquith Golf course. This junction is also very unsafe for pedestrians who want to cross the road.

Please stick to the Housing Strategy and build townhouses instead of units. This area cannot cope with the extra burden these additional dwellings will place on traffic volumes in this precinct.

I wonder how long our existing infrastructure will hold up under the pressure of all the new dwellings being built in our suburb? A major review of local traffic management is already urgently needed. Increasing the number of dwellings by building units instead of townhouses increases the volume of cars using the local roads. We are already near gridlock at peak hour and the risk to pedestrians accessing local schools and Mills Park is reaching unacceptable levels.

The increase in traffic and congestion in this area that will result from this Unit development has not been fully considered.

The ‘Traffic and Parking assessment report’ attached to the development completely ignores the three schools surrounding the development.
The large number of pedestrian traffic from entering and leaving Asquith Girls High School via Baldwin Ave is conveniently emitted by the developer.
Further to the point there is no mention of Asquith Primary School, St Patrick's School or Asquith Early Childcare center which all directly surround the development.

This proposal is shows a lack of thought and the attached documentation is inaccurate.

This development is totally inappropriate for the eastern side of Asquith. As one of the highest points in this suburb, the size of this development will be markedly out of alignment with the surrounding area of mostly single storey dwellings. It is not at all adhering to the Hornsby Development Control Plan which states on page 3, "Positive
responses to desired future character include deep soil landscaping along all site
boundaries, dwellings that address the street or a central walkway, and that are not oriented towards neighbouring properties". The DA currently has multiple balconies overlooking the Asquith Girls High School as well as its neighbouring properties on the western side boundary. This area was zoned for townhouses and should remain so that the character of this area is not destroyed.

The balconies are all to be made with clear glass so that the view for the surrounding neighbours will be the laundry lines and items that do not fit into the units as their is no plan to include storage facilities for each unit. The clear glass will also mean that each unit facing the internal driveway ramp will have no privacy from each other.

The Landscaping plan shows that trees are to be planted to reach a height of 3-5metres which given that the space between the property and the fenceline on the side boundaries is 2.9metres on the school's side and 3metres on the western side, this does not give adequate space for these trees to grow. Should there not be a plan for community vegetable and fruit gardens and open spaces greater than a 3metre boundary on the perimeter? This is the kind of garden that will be destroyed by this development. The plans show that car spaces are to be provided underneath for wheel chair access yet the only access from the underground carpark to the ground floor level is via stairs or via the driveway which is not ideal.

The proposed 43 units will have a significant impact on the availability of parking and traffic flow, particularly at peak times such as the school drop off and pick up times. Pedestrians take their lives in their hands when crossing Sherbrook Road as cars facing east on Baldwin and turning right onto Sherbrook Rd are often racing to make the green light and are unaware that pedestrians also have a green light to cross as well. Having lived just south of this intersection for over 20 years, I have seen more than a few accidents at this set of lights. Most Friday afternoons see a trail of cars stretching from the Pacific Highway lights at Mt Colah all along Royston Parade to the southern end of the Asquith Golf Club and it can take 20 minutes or more to travel this short stretch. The traffic problems in this area increase enormously whenever there is a traffic incident on the M1 when Sherbrook Road and Royston Parade are used as a major Detour route. Sherbrook Road during these incidents can be blocked all the way back from Asquith to Hornsby. Adding unit blocks to this area will only compound this kind of problem.

With the proposed development, it is highly likely that there will be an increase in people wishing to send their children to the local high schools. I believe Asquith Girls HS is currently at its maximum intake and by allowing such developments on its fence line effectively stops any possibility of expanding the school. What are the plans to enable the school to change its capacity to match the plans of the council to increase the residential population? It would seem to be an issue that should be considered as developers have approached all the neighbours of this school.

There is insufficient public space/community halls and parks for this kind of development. With the sale of the Asquith Preschool and Community centre, there is no local hall to provide a meeting space for residents, particularly the aged. Mills Park has inadequate playground equipment and no barbeque or picnic sites for outdoor socialising that is so necessary when home is a small unit. The closest barbeque facility is on Lockwood Street. There is one barbeque here for the entire eastern side of Asquith and already it has become increasingly difficult to access this site due to its popularity.

I respectfully request that this application for the construction of units be denied and that development of a much smaller scale be sought.

I am horrified at the density proposed in the DA for 477 Pacific Highway. It is a townhouse zoning and to put 10 dwellings on one block is akin to a poultry shed. Ten more cars to exit onto the already busy highway. This is development on steroids.
Asquith has so few amenities, the community centre has been taken from us by the council,the children's playground is a rusty fading relic of earlier decades. There seems to be no planning for this massive increase of residents.

The Council, at the time Mills Park was developed, promised that land within the park would be made available as parking. They have not kept this promise and the top end of Baldwin Ave is dangerously congested on weekends. The park has been developed for the benefit of sports groups (soccer and cricket) but not for the benefit of family groups who may want to picnic. During the week the traffic around Sherbrook Rd/ Baldwin Ave is heavy. The area clearly can't sustain large scale development. However, our Councillors and town planner are clearly strong supporters of developers at the expense of community (note increased scale of buildings now allowed on the West side of Hornsby - from 9 stories to over 20; sale of childcare and community centre to enable sale of $12mill development; destruction of heritage CWA building to provide a road for developers to have ease of access for large scale development now planned - which Council said was about the pool. They over-ride Development Controls by simply changing the rules (by majority votes within council meetings) to suit the requirements of the developers. There is no debate in council meetings in relation to development as the councillors vote in accord. While clearly having a development that is not townhouses, as per the planning controls; that has 43 units; that does not protect the privacy of surrounding houses; that does not take disability into account; that increases traffic flow around a school, that plans tree planting inappropriately should not go forward I have no doubt this Council will approve it. I am putting forward this objection to the scale of the development for the area with little expectation of change until we change our Council and Town Planner.

I live in Lockwood St Asquith, have you ever had to drive through Sherbrook Rd to Asquith during peak times, obviously no council members have to do this, I do and can't believe this DA is up for approval. I have lived here for over 65 years and have seen council after council want to turn this suburb into a concrete jungle with absolutely no consideration for the people who live here or more importantly "why" people live here. Today we still have houses with back yards for kids to play in, what do council really want, to support Developers or Residents. I have a house I'm happy to retire in, but not if we are next to units, why do you have such a desire to make me leave the suburb I was born in, have you driven past Asquith station early on a Sunday, so many cars, just the overflow from the Town Houses. Mon to Fri I can't park outside my own house, this whole area is overloaded with cars. The infrastructure simply can't handle whats already here let alone a development with 43 units, Please DON"T approve this DA

This is totally inappropriate and should not go ahead. I am all for development when it meets criteria set for this area which is townhouses and houses. Am I missing something here ? Placing units in such a small area is not in the best interests of the local area and community and does not even come close to the look and feel of other properties in the general vicinity. I believe this is also a requirement . The only people this will benefit is the local cafe, the bank balance of the developers and councils requirements to meet their quota for new dwellings. It will overload the inadequate Asquith station parking area even with the planned additional parking zones. On such a corner for cars entering and leaving this proposed residence means higher potential road accidents which is more than a concern considering the location of two schools in such close vicinity .

I concur with all of the above, in addition all of the new development in Asquith is unsightly, unnecessary and causing terrible traffic congestion problems before during and after construction, not to mention the existing units currently under construction in Asquith are not even completely sold (showing a strong lack of demand for such properties in the area) Please do not add to the already strained infrastructure, roads, Doctors, Schools and shops in the area by allowing even more development. Protect our BUSHLAND Shire and our local suburbs.

We should be able to trust our Council, we shouldn't have to fight against totally inappropriate developments, isn't that what we elect Council for?
It's difficult for the average ratepayer to understand why the Town Planning dept of council accepts these proposals when they obviously don't comply and are so vastly out of line with planning guidelines.
Please Council with all that is going on in Asquith, please make sensible decisions so that we can all have some faith in the system.

Re: Development Application DA/276/2016
Properties Nos. 12-18 Baldwin Avenue, Asquith

I am writing to express my strong opposition to the amended proposed Development application DA/276/2016. The application submitted to Hornsby Council proposes the demolition of existing buildings and construction of two residential flat buildings containing 29 units and 7 townhouses with car parking within a basement.

Discounting the Heritage Listed building on the corner of Baldwin and Royston, there are 22 parcels of land to develop in the Baldwin Avenue Precinct. This application only represents 4 of these parcels. I agree with the statement in the report by Think Planners Pty states that this development will ”set the tone and scale for future comparable developments within the R3 zoned block”. However, I disagree with the assertion that approval of this development would represent “a positive development outcome” for our suburb.

My main concerns with regard to this application are outlined below:

Traffic
The report states that the lower rate for parking spaces has been used to due to the proximity of the development to Asquith Station, resulting in the provision of 47 car parking spaces for this development.

Analysis of car ownership in the 2011 Census (2016 not available yet), indicates 54% of households in the Hornsby Shire had access to two or more motor vehicles, compared to 44% in Greater Sydney. http://profile.id.com.au/hornsby/car-ownership. Taking this pattern of car ownership in Hornsby Shire in to account, the current parking provision in this development application is unlikely to meet demand and we will see a greater reliance on on-street parking.

The housing strategy already recognises the poor connectivity between areas east and west of the railway line and that housing development in this precinct will increase traffic movements.

Baldwin Avenue is referred to in the report as only likely to see a small increase of cars resulting from the addition of 36 units. Putting 29 units and 7 townhouses on these 4 blocks instead of just townhouses significantly increases the density of this development, which in turn, significantly increases the number of vehicles in an already congested area.

This end of the Baldwin Avenue Precinct forms part of the ever increasing commuter parking around Asquith Station which extends along Sherbrook Road, Royston Parade, Victory Street, Haldane Street, Winston Street, Olive Street and Heath Street.

The scale of on-street parking is reaching dangerous and unacceptable levels. Many people who live near stations beyond Asquith park here because the stopping patterns of the trains mean that Asquith has a more regular train service than their local station. The construction of a new car park along the Pacific Highway will not solve this problem and will only encourage yet more commuters to drive to Asquith Station rather than using one more local to them.

Cars entering and leaving this development will do so via Baldwin Avenue. This is a very busy pedestrian area at peak hour as high school students enter and leave the adjoining high school and primary school students make their way to and from school in the adjoining streets.

This precinct is within 1 km of two primary schools and two high schools. Every school day more than 2,200 students are on the move within one kilometre of this precinct. Many arrive by train, some walk and a large proportion of primary school students are driven to school, adding to the congestion:

School Student Enrolments – 2016 (Source: My School Website)
Asquith Public School 374
St Patrick’s Primary 353
Asquith Girls High 899
Asquith Boys High 589
Total 2,215 students within 1km of this development.

These schools are already operating either very close to or at capacity and this is before new residents move in to the units being built along the Pacific Highway and seek to enrol their child/ren. We must also not forget to take in to account students who attend schools in other suburbs who are also on the move at peak periods either by car or train. Congestion in and around this Precinct is only set to worsen as the population increases.

Traffic on Royston Parade is already at capacity at peak hour and there are regular tailbacks over the bridge as traffic tries to filter on to the Pacific Highway. Tailbacks also occur where drivers try to right turn in to Dudley Street off Royston since cars are allowed to park opposite this junction and traffic cannot flow around the car waiting to turn. There is no signalisation at Kuring-gai Chase Road/Royston Road intersection and traffic jams of cars waiting to turn right on to Kuring-gai Chase road often form and tail back past Asquith Golf course. This junction is also very unsafe for pedestrians and who want to cross the road.

Housing Choice & Affordability
Think’s report states that this proposed development will “help to enhance the housing choice within Asquith” and that “the mix of dwellings on offer will help to contribute to affordability”. Given the high number of apartment blocks currently under construction along the Pacific Highway that stretch from Asquith to Mount Colah there is already a plentiful supply of units on the market.

If you really want to enhance housing choice in our suburb in this precinct build townhouses - these would also be more in keeping with the character of the east side of our suburb and provide more ‘choice’ to buyers given the glut of units on offer.

Affordability is all relative, and if the current market is anything to go by most buyers would be hard pressed to be able to afford a new dwelling so close to Asquith Train station.. Here are some random recent examples of prices fetched:

2 Bedroom Townhouse: Heath Street - $716,000
3 Bedroom Townhouse: Haldane Street - $980,000
1 Bed Unit: Jersey Street North - $510,000
2 Bed Unit: Jersey Street: $785,000

Does this proposal make any provision for social housing? It is difficult to see how this proposal addresses the issue of affordability.

The Social & Economic Impact of this Development
The Think reports states that this proposed development will “..help support the growth of the locality….to ensure efficient use of community infrastructure by providing higher residential density at strategic locations…”

As it stands, the density of this proposal will increase the traffic congestion on the East Side of Asquith and this congestion will have negative social and economic impacts on the local community. Increased traffic will deter people from walking and cycling, encourage yet more traffic on to our roads and increase travel times for local trips. Residents living on the East Side of this suburb risk becoming ‘hemmed in’ by high volumes of traffic on Sherbrook Road. They will find it increasingly difficult to make journeys between the east and the west sides of the suburb. This proposal will not have any positive impact for those living on the East Side of the suburb nor those who need to use Sherbrook Road.

Our current community infrastructure is gradually being stripped away and is already under huge strain. Over the last 5 years Asquith suburb has lost the Council run Asquith Long Day Care and Preschool and Seniors Centre (formerly located on Lords Avenue). The community facility at Storey Park whilst currently being revamped (and technically, not situated in Asquith) will not even have a café. The big public park situated at the end of Baldwin Avenue, Mills Park, has no bubblers, no BBQ facilities and the majority of the open space is reserved for formal sport (soccer). There is only ever one disabled toilet open to the public when there are no formal games of soccer being played. When this playing field is being used for formal sport, parking around the venue reaches nightmare proportions. This is the park that proposed development in Baldwin Avenue will rely on for open recreational space.

In conclusion, please stick to the Housing Strategy and build townhouses instead of units.

Thank you for your time.

Liz Paul

You have to wonder why Hornsby Council is far ahead of the state government's required number of new apartments. I suspect people in the planning department of council are receiving black money from developers, there is absolutely no other reason why our area should be exceeding targets by a fair margin.

Let's hope we merge with Kuringai Council - we will certainly then be pushing hard for Hornsby Council planning team to be replaced or at least put under the direction of Kuringai's. We don't want Hornsby's planners having any influence on our local areas, they are not accruing in our interests.