Hills Shire Council calls for Castle Hill serviced apartment plan to be rejected
The plans to include hundreds of serviced apartments in The Hills was rejected.
Hills Shire
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Plans to include hundreds of serviced apartments at the Toplace Skyview development in Castle Hill were knocked back over congestion fears and a “lack of demand”.
The Hills Shire Council met on Tuesday night to determine the fate of the modification of the plans to allow serviced apartments to be included among residential apartments at 51-55 Old Castle Hill Rd, Castle Hill.
A council planning representative called for councillors to reject the proposal proceeding to the NSW Government for gateway determination — a decision upheld by councillors
The planning document revealed council’s concerns serviced apartments would “reduce the potential for housing supply”.
“The planning proposal has not provided sufficient strategic justification to change the land use on this site from residential to ‘serviced apartments’, at the expense of the delivery of new housing in appropriate and strategically identified locations,” council planners said.
“Concern is also raised with respect to potential amenity impacts of permitting a significant portion of serviced apartments within a planned residential community.”
The report also raised doubts around the need for serviced apartments in Castle Hill, due to insufficient market demand.
Toplace current plans for the site adjacent to Castle Towers Shopping Centre allows for the development of 962 dwellings at the site, however, the modification calls for the reduction of homes to 585 dwellings and the addition of 377 serviced apartments.
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Toplace already have approved buildings heights ranging from 18 to 23 storeys across the five buildings, which will not change as part of the modified proposal.
A Toplace spokeswoman said job growth in The Hills sparked a need for serviced apartments and quality hotel accommodation within the next few years.
“The decision to apply for service apartments was based on information contained in the NSW Government Metropolitan Plan and The Hills Corridor Strategy 2015,” the spokeswoman said.
“These documents identified there are 578 hotels rooms including 252 serviced apartments between Castle Hill strategic centre and Norwest/Bella Vista areas.
“Providing additional high-quality accommodation will not only help meet this demand, but also boost local tourism and employment opportunities in the Hills District.”