An eight-storey apartment building which will overlook Wollongong’s City Beach area and Lang Park has been given the green light by an independent planning panel.
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However, the developers have been asked to redesign parts of the building facing the beach-side park to soften its “austere” appearance and “provide a positive contribution to the public realm”.
Wollongong’s Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel (IHAP) met last week to consider the 13-unit building which will replace two ageing red brick houses at 2-4 Parkside Avenue.
If approved by the council, the cul-de-sac development – containing three and four bedroom apartments overlooking the park – will also incorporate a roof top terrace and pool area, as well as basement parking.
When Martin Morris and Jones lodged the plans in February this year, Wollongong City Council received 18 public submissions.
Residents raised concerns about stormwater drain capacity, overshadowing of neighbours and the impacts on existing views. They were also worried about the building height – despite it being within allowable height limits – and how it would fit within the existing character and scale of the area.
At last week’s public meeting, three residents spoke against the apartment block’s approval, saying it was within a heritage significant areas and would “provide unacceptable shadowing of the adjoining park”.
After viewing the building site ahead of the public meeting, IHAP panel members voted unanimously that the building should be approved, as long as the applicants submitted amended plans to address outstanding issues.
They said the eastern boundary should be redesigned to present a “unified architectural and landscape design” facing the park, suggesting “a continuous decorative masonry wall faced in sandstone or similar for the full length of the eastern boundary, setback sufficiently to allow consistent planting and substantially scaled trees”.
Additionally, the panel recommended the developers move a substation, change the layout of one of the units and soften the “austere” appearance of balconies with better weather protection and screening.
Once the council was satisfied with the amended plans, the application could be approved, the IHAP recommendation said.
While the building will be double the height of many nearby buildings, the surrounding area – especially along Harbour Street and opposite the Wollongong cathedral – is undergoing significant change.
Several new high-rise buildings are planned or under construction.