FEATURE
St Leonards South Master Plan creates controversy The prospect of an additional 2400 new apartments on our doorstep is causing significant community concern, as evidenced at Council’s February meeting. By Jocelyn Biddle.
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umerous Greenwich residents and representatives from the local community association expressed their dismay at the consultation process for the proposed redevelopment at St Leonards South. The St Leonards South Master Plan proposal applies to the precinct south of the Pacific Highway bounded by Marshall Avenue to the north, Canberra Avenue to the east, River Road to the south and Park Road to the west. The proposal provides for a new high rise residential development, with buildings ranging from 4 - 19 storeys. Assuming an average occupancy rate of two persons per dwelling (ABS data), the proposed rezoning could potentially equate to 4,800 new residents. The Greenwich Community Association (GCA) says that local residents have not been consulted sufficiently as part of the process. According to President Merri Southwood, they were not invited to be part of the early consultation process which commenced in 2012, so were unaware of the proposed development until 2015, by which time it was so far advanced. “This proposed Master Plan has come together lacking in transparency and community consultation. We cannot understand why our elected representatives would want to be part of such a proposal without adequate consultation. Local residents have been surprised and concerned, as evidenced by the over 400 submissions that have been made to Council about the proposal.” A meeting of the GCA in December discussed resident concerns including the scale of the proposed development; the lack of services and infrastructure within the development area, and the impacts on adjacent communities. Lane Cove Council’s General 4 I THE VILLAGE OBSERVER I NO. 271 I MARCH 2018
Image created by Oculus for the St Leonards South Landscape Master Plan Report.
Manager, Craig Wrightson refutes that there has been a lack of community consultation. “The Greenwich Community Association were formally consulted during the Master Plan exhibition phase from April 2015, with the GCA and other members of the community being invited to an information session at Council on 21st April 2015. The President of the GCA attended this meeting and details of the presentation were made publicly available on Council’s website. “Since this time, the GCA have been invited to attend update sessions in November 2016 and the consultation has continued as part of the Planning Proposal stage.” Mayor and Councillor Pam Palmer concurs that the planning process, which commenced at Council five years ago, has had community consultation along the way. “In the latest round of consultation which finished on January 5th 2018, the proposal was advertised in the North Shore Times; sent to the 6000+ residents on Council’s email list; put on exhibition for 10 weeks from 30 October 2017; and information was hand-delivered to every household in Greenwich. In
addition, Council held two community drop-in information sessions in the local community hall in the evening, on a weekday, and during the day on a Saturday. “I acknowledge some residents feel the consultation has not been sufficient but, despite that, I have received a lot of valuable feedback. That feedback will definitely be taken into account when Council considers whether or not to proceed with the proposal in its current form.”
Strategic centre for growth In 2012, following the State Government identifying St Leonards as a strategic centre for growth in Sydney, Lane Cove Council resolved to prepare a draft Master Plan for the precinct. “The Master Plan was developed as the result of a Council resolution,” says Mayor Palmer. “It was justified on the basis that over many years, residents had seen development ‘creep’ around them because of State Government planning decisions. “Initially, around a dozen houses were demolished directly to the east to make way for an 8-storey apartment development despite no zoning change by Council. More recently, on the northern boundary, another dozen houses were demolished again stemming from a government planning decision. So residents did feel uncertain about their future - should they renovate their home or would this simply be a waste of money for them?” Mayor Palmer said that she is concerned that Councils are being given less and less say in planning for their area and what types of developments will be permitted. “If the Master Plan goes ahead, it will herald significant change to the residential area around St Leonards Station. However, change has already
