Marrickville: Illawarra Rd development worth $11m goes before council
Residents in Marrickville say the charm of the inner west is under threat as another multi-million residential development eyes up a prime spot in the suburb.
Inner West
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Fears their quiet slice of suburbia will be turned into “just another suburb of Sydney”, has led to resident backlash of an $11 million proposal to demolish Federation era homes to make way for an apartment block.
The plan for Marrickville’s Illawarra Rd has raised alarm bells with neighbours who fear the project’s approval would open the floodgates for developers looking to cash in with high rises.
Their main concern is that the loss of the historic homes would lead the vibrant suburb losing its character as flash new buildings spring up around it.
“This big black box could be anywhere in the world,” said Save Marrickville’s Paul Mortimer.
“It won’t be too long before Marrickville looks like any other much newer suburb in outer Sydney.
“We know development applications will happen and council has to deal with them but we aren’t against development, we want all developments to be sympathetic and preserve (Marrickville’s) character.”
The plans were lodged with Inner West Council last year and documents tendered as part of proposal reveal applicant Benson McCormack Architecture plans to completely knock down the current structure.
The documents detail the federation era houses will be replaced by a five storey building comprising of 38 apartments and underground parking.
Mr Mortimer said the plan was a “test case” for local government to uphold planning provisions that outline how new projects must fit in with its surroundings.
While the project was flagged in late 2019, it has now reached a public notification stage as council prepares to make a decision on the development later this year.
In a social impact statement submitted as part of the application, the developer said the project would boost the tourism opportunities in the suburb as there were few options for accommodation in the area.
“The positive social impacts are likely to outweigh the potential adverse social impacts due to the lack of hotel, motel and serviced apartments accommodation in Marrickville, contribution to economic development and tourism in the locality, and the opportunities to mitigate potential adverse impacts,” the report said.
The same report detailed that Marrickville was undersupplied with accommodation and would need 267 rooms and 716 beds to meet an average tourist demand.
Attempts to reach the developer were unsuccessful.
Agreeing that the project was not in character with the street, the report said newer developments with a higher density were expected in Marrickville in the coming years given its location and transport options.
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