Community fears of overdevelopment around new Northern Beaches hospital

THERE are community fears that proposed accommodation to be built near a new Sydney hospital will turn the area into a ‘concrete jungle’ — but developers say their plans will prove necessary for hospital workers.

An artist's impression of the proposed boarding house on Gladys Ave.

• Developers plan apartments, retail space and hotel next to hospital
• Developer will appeal council decision over accommodation next to hospital

PLANS for a 103-bedroom boarding house in Frenchs Forest have been criticised as overdevelopment and raised fears that the area is becoming a “concrete jungle”.

But the project’s developer Michael Williamson, of Williamson Building Corporation, said it would provide much-needed key worker housing just 250m from the Northern Beaches Hospital.

The Gladys Ave site contains a single home and is on just under 2500 sq m of land and the development would include an on-site manager’s unit.

The proposed site of a boarding house on Gladys Ave.

Mr Williamson said his design was within the Northern Beaches Council’s height limitations and permissible under the State Government’s planning policy for affordable housing, the State Environment Planning Policy (SEPP).

“The hospital is looking to be completed by the end of this year,” Mr Williamson said. “We are looking to provide very high quality key worker housing in proximity to the hospital.”

Mr Williamson said the rooms would be high quality with modular furniture to allow for conversion from living to sleeping areas.

“What we are proposing is a state of the art example of build-to-rent, key worker housing,” he said.

An August 2017 photo of the Northern Beaches Hospital under construction. Picture: Damian Shaw.

“The proposed development provides high quality garden studio accommodation in a suburban setting in a holistically designed environment which complements and adds to the existing greenery.”

He said housing diversity was the key to getting workers from the hospital and surrounding precinct into the area.

Since 2009, his company has been “focused on developing and innovating this type of housing accommodation”, having visited dozens of similar projects.

“It is the culmination of all of the best aspects of build-to-rent housing,” he said.

Liberal councillor Rory Amon. Picture; Adam Yip/ Manly Daily

Liberal councillor Rory Amon expressed frustration that the council’s planning laws were superseded by the State Government’s SEPP. He criticised its requirement of one parking space for every five rooms, or 10 people.

“This development will have 33 car spaces, for a possible 206 people,” he said. “One of the worst things about this is local councillors have no say on whether our communities are transformed from low density to high density by stealth. We have no ability to act and it’s incredibly frustrating.”

More than 50 objections have been lodged with the council.

In his submission, Mark Johnston said: “I am extremely concerned and worried that developers are gradually turning Belrose and Frenchs Forest into a ‘concrete jungle’ ... eroding our (peaceful) way of life.”

He said boarding houses meant extra traffic, noise, pollution and fewer trees.

Others, such as Sam Gijak, were concerned about the “transient nature of boarding rooms and the types of people that will be staying there”. “Public transport has not been adjusted to cope with all the new residents these developments plan to house,” she said.

An artist impression of a different proposal for accommodation intended to have 380 units. Picture: urbaine architecture

Meanwhile, another developer aiming to add 380 units for affordable accommodation for health workers near the Northern Beaches Hospital said last week he will appeal a council decision to refuse the plan.

John Aspinall, of Urbaine Architecture, told the Manly Daily he had lodged an appeal with the Sydney North Planning Panel.

He also plans to approach Warringah federal MP Tony Abbott to pitch the idea in the wake of the former prime minister’s concerns about overdevelopment.

“I agree with Tony Abbott about the potential overdevelopment of the northern beaches,” Mr Aspinall said. “However, the affordable accommodation problem will remain.

“Our own scheme for the nurses’ accommodation actually alleviates the traffic infrastructure problem by placing the nurses so close to the hospital.”

The area - at 323 to 327 Warringah Rd - would need to be rezoned to allow for an uplift in height, to mirror the new hospital at 12 storeys.

I would just like the community to understand that this is a genuine solution to 100 per cent affordable housing forever, with no time limits, it is not a percentage of affordable housing but totally affordable,” he said.