Wollongong council slams public housing proposal

The single-level house at 34 Market St, Wollongong, is meant to make way for two eight-storey public housing apartment blocks. Picture: SYLVIA LIBER

Plans for 58 public housing units in two apartment buildings on Market St have been labelled an "overdevelopment" in a scathing submission by Wollongong City Council. Housing NSW is proposing to build two eight-storey apartment blocks for seniors and disabled tenants on a site occupied by a single-level house.Neighbourhood Forum 5 and the Save Market Street group are opposing the development, which is being pushed through under the Federal Government's Nation Building and Jobs Plan.

EDITORIAL: Government's plan for Market St fails the testThe development will be assessed by the NSW Infrastructure Co-ordinator General and is not required to comply with state or council planning regulations.Eighteen months after the State Government sacked the council, the planning tables have turned, with the council now attempting to defend the city from overdevelopment by the State Government.In a submission sent to Housing NSW consultants and obtained by the Mercury, the council's general manager David Farmer has criticised the proposal on everything from height and density to insufficient parking, setbacks, a lack of open space and waste storage.At least 10 other community submissions have been lodged."Council does not support the proposal as submitted," Mr Farmer wrote.Under normal circumstances, Mr Farmer said the proposal would be considered in an open forum through the Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel.Housing NSW defended the plan, saying the site already has development consent for a similar building of the same height. It has ordered a review of setbacks and parking in response to public concerns.But Mr Farmer noted that at 27.6m high, the building exceeds the site's 24m limit. The floor space ratio is also greater than the 2.5:1 permitted.The building provides just 11 car spots - or one space for every five units - compared to the 63 resident spaces and six visitor spaces required by the council's development control plan."The offsite impacts generated by a reduction of parking numbers is significant and ... cannot be supported by council," Mr Farmer wrote.The council also suggests the proposal does not contain sufficient communal and private open space.The 2.5m setbacks from the boundaries are not sufficient and "will have a significant impact on the privacy and amenity of adjoining properties", Mr Farmer said.Public submissions closed on Friday but Wollongong MP Noreen Hay said yesterday she would ask Housing Minister David Borger for an extension of time."I support in principle the provision of social housing in the CBD for seniors," she said."But I can guarantee that any feedback from the community will get strong consideration from the department, the minister's office and NSW planning experts. "This development needs to fit in with the expectations of the community."

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Wollongong council slams public housing proposal

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