Unley Mayor Michael Hewitson says developing the Keswick Barracks could help stop Adelaide’s urban sprawl
The Mayor of Unley loves the concept of turning Keswick Barracks on the CBD fringe into a new suburb, and thinks it could be a world-class development. But there’s one big problem.
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Unley Mayor Michael Hewitson thinks the Keswick Barracks could be turned into “one of the world’s best developments” and give some hope that Adelaide’s suburbs won’t continue to grow “to the edge of the desert’’.
Prominent Adelaide property developer Theo Maras floated the idea earlier this month that the Barracks on the corner of Anzac Highway and Greenhill Rd should be razed and converted into a “new suburb” taking in the former Le Cornu site.
Mr Maras, who was adamant he didn’t want to develop the land himself, said the site was perfectly situated, with a train station, bus and tram routes nearby, and was walking distance from the city.
Mr Hewitson agreed wholeheartedly.
“I’m totally against allowing Adelaide to spread to the edge of the desert,’’ he said.
“Already with a city of 1.5 million, we occupy four or five times the land area of London, which is 15 million.’’
Mr Hewitson said developing sites such as the Keswick Barracks would ensure the preservation of food-producing areas such as Virginia and regions south of the city, and said there was no reason the defence force activities currently on site couldn’t remain.
He said he was passionate about protecting Adelaide’s heritage, and the beautiful buildings at the north end of the site would naturally be preserved, however there were other buildings on the site which were very unattractive.
Mr Hewitson said the site could be developed with good tree cover, and provide a walkable or rideable solution for city workers.
“This could be one of the world’s best developments, transport-orientated,’’ he said.
Mr Hewitson said the site would be limited in height due to its proximity to the airport.
“This council is committed to Unley remaining cool, green and sunlit,” he said.
Under the council’s current development plan, new developments had to have a large tree, or two medium-sized trees every 60sqm.
Mark Clisby from the Unley Residents Association said the site was a vital resource for the Army Reserves, and should not be developed.
The Department of Defence told The Advertiser it “has no intent to divest Keswick Barracks and the site is currently undergoing a refurbishment to extend the life of the base’’.
“Keswick Barracks was the central hub for Defence’s response to the bushfires in SA and Tasmania for Operation Bushfire Assist,’’ the department said in a statement.
“It is an enduring Defence site and is currently used by Army and Navy, including Reserve and Cadet units.’’
The Keswick Barracks site is a large triangle of land, 600m on the Anzac Hwy side, running 500m along the train track and 460m across the base.
It runs almost to the corner of Maple Ave, which, with Leader St, bounds the former Le Cornu site, which recently came on the market after German supermarket company Kaufland decided to scuttle its plans to set up in Australia.