‘Derelict’ sites on Marion Rd among key development priorities in Marion Council planning overhaul
A BID to allow five-storey apartment buildings along the majority of Marion Rd has been scaled back to instead focus on major developments at key sites – many of which have long been run down.
A BID to allow five-storey apartment buildings along the majority of Marion Rd has been scaled back to instead focus on major developments at key sites.
Marion Council is proposing three-storey buildings on a large part of the thoroughfare, but up to six storeys on some sites that are have been described as an “eyesore”, “derelict” or otherwise ripe for development.
The changes are part of a council-wide review of planning rules, in a bid to rid suburban streets of “ugly” homes and parking problems created by overdevelopment – instead funnelling developers towards major roads.
Mayor Kris Hanna said the council had reduced the height limit proposed for the road, between the tramline and Marion Hotel, Mitchell Park, based on feedback from the state’s Planning Department.
“The government were saying don’t just have open slather – look at the sites where it could be increased without undue impact on the neighbours,” he said.
The council has identified five spots on Marion Rd for taller developments.
They include the former Skorpos service station at Park Holme, a series of businesses between Sixth and Seventh avenues, Ascot Park and a string of shops and vacant land between Wheaton and Melville streets, South Plympton.
A council report labelled the South Plympton land as “derelict and underutilised”.
Each site had been picked because they “might be ready for rejuvenation or because there’s a good commercial case for it”, according to the mayor.
“They’re not a string of pearls,” he said.
Cr Bruce Hull hoped the new height limit at the Skorpos site, which has sat vacant and vandalised for years, may attract interest from developers because it was “just an eyesore”.
However, Cr Hull said restricting buildings along most of the thoroughfare to three storeys was “a missed opportunity” to attract developers and new shops.
“It’s just a hotchpotch of development along there,” he said.
The council also plans to rezone the Marion Hotel at Mitchell Park to allow up to six storeys, amid an application for a $13 million overhaul.
Hurley Hotel Group general manager Sam McInnes said the hotel was “content” with its plans for the upgrade, which includes major renovations and a four-storey accommodation complex.
He said the council’s vision for the thoroughfare was “a constructive suggestion given the nature of Marion Rd”.
The council is rezoning large swathes of the district, also making way for taller developments alongside the Seaford rail line and around Westfield Marion and Oaklands Crossing.
Marion’s population grew from almost 83,000 in 2011 to more than 88,600 last year.
The zoning changes are also likely to mean it becomes harder to squeeze multiple homes on suburban blocks in the northern part of the district.
“If grandma has a big block and wants to be able to divide it in two she’s probably going to be able to do it, but if a greedy developer wants to divide that same block into four townhouses, he or she is probably not going to be able to,” Mr Hanna said.
“We want to cut back on overdevelopment and excessive, ugly, subdivision.”
Conversely, the council also wants to reduce street frontages and minimum block sizes in its southern end, in suburbs such as Seaview Down, Seacombe Heights, Hallett Cove, Marino and Trott Park.
“We’ve listened to some initial community discussion that suggests that people in the southern part of the city would like to subdivide more than they can now,” Mr Hanna said.
The council signed off on changes to its Housing Diversity Development Plan Amendment last week. It will begin community consultation on September 18.
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