A decision over a proposal for a five-storey "shop-top" complex of 84 apartments running alongside the South Coast rail line has been deferred by Wollongong’s independent planning panel, who said they are not satisfied the land is suitable for residential use.
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The decision comes after Wollongong City Council said the plans should be given the go ahead, subject to conditions.
Slated for a narrow block opposite Wollongong Bunnings, at 110 Gipps Street, the apartments are proposed to be built over three towers wedged between the soon to expand Kennards Storage and the railway tracks.
There would be 60 two-bedroom and 24 one-bedroom units, as well as 137 basement parking spaces, and a mix of business and residential parking available on the ground level. Each tower would have a separate business tenancy on the ground floor.
Assessing the plans, lodged in 2016, council staff said the main issued for consideration were the proximity of homes to the rail corridor, design quality, flooding evacuation restraints and and easement which is required over adjoining land, owned by Kennards.
However, they said these could be overcome and the project approved subject to a long list of conditions.
These will include “acoustic compliance” to make sure residents are not negatively affected by noise from the rail line.
Measures will include glazing of windows, installing the correct insulation and building materials, with the council asking that the maximum permitted noise inside bedrooms be 35 decibels overnight.
As it is over four-storeys high, the proposal was considered by Wollongong’s Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel last Wednesday.
After visiting the site and hearing from developers Robert Gizzi and Tony Galaxidis, IHAP panel members voted unanimously to defer their decision pending more information about site contamination.
They said the plans were missing a “phase 2 site assessment”, which looks at how identified contamination on site could harm human health, and they could therefore not be satisfied that they had enough information about whether the land would be suitable for residents.
Once this information is received, the panel said the proposal “had merit”.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
