Residential development knocked back for West Pennant Hills IBM office site

A WEST Pennant Hills proposed development has hit a roadblock after The Hills Shire Council refused to give its approval.

Artist impression of the proposed development at 55 Coonara Ave, West Pennant Hills.

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A WEST Pennant Hills proposed development has hit a roadblock after The Hills Shire Council refused to give its approval.

Adrian Checchin, of Mirvac Capital, pushed for a residential complex with townhouses, terraces and apartments on 55 Coonara Ave, at the site of the IBM office, saying it was the most viable option.

“The current commercial space is not viable and the buildings are redundant,” he said. “Companies are relocating to Epping, Macquarie Park, Showground and Norwest Business Park.

“Jobs have been lost and they will not be replaced.”

Mr Checchin said the proposed development was 800m from Cherrybrook train station but the council disagreed; stating it was 860m away.

Cr Michelle Byrne remained adamant more homes was not the best solution to redevelop the 25.87ha site. She questioned whether the large parcel of land would better suit a university or for the community to use.

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Other proposed uses for the site were a hotel, serviced apartments or a continuation of businesses to meet employment targets.

The issues the council had with the proposed development included proposed density and accessibility, loss of employment land, traffic and car parking woes, environmental constraints as well as the bushfire risk.

“The Northwest Metro is not an excuse to develop every parcel of land,” Cr Byrne said.

“If we rezone and develop every piece of land, how are we going to meet our employment targets? How exactly do we support this with the infrastructure that is already struggling to provide for current residents?”

The councillors moved at last week’s meeting to not send the proposal on to the State Government for gateway determination.

Mr Checchin told the Hills Shire Times the council’s decision was disappointing.

“Working with council from mid-2015, it is obviously disappointing we were unable to obtain support to proceed to gateway review,” he said. “Particularly as our proposal significantly reduces the impacts of the existing business park, such as traffic in the local area, and gifts council and the community 24,930 sq m of land as public open space which is capable of incorporating an active play field.”