Narraweena boarding house plan rejected — bus stop too far away
Plans for a a $2.1m boarding house on the northern beaches have been rejected. It comes as a council report highlighted a number of concerns.
Manly
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Plans for a new boarding house on the northern beaches have been stymied because council planners say the complex was too far away from the nearest bus stop.
The proposed 12-unit development at Narraweena was also halted because the quickest route to the bus stop was through an unlit park with no footpaths.
Local developer Michael Bennett wants to build the $2.15 million complex in The Circle, on the southern edge of Beverley Job Park.
The development application was knocked back by the independent Northern Beaches Local Planning Panel on Wednesday
Northern Beaches Council had received 31 public submissions objecting to the development application (DA). Plans are referred to panel if there are more than 10 objections.
Several submissions complained about “safety” concerns because the complex — with 10 double and two single rooms — was too close to the sports fields in the park.
In its DA assessment report handed to the panel. the council confirmed that “a large number of the objections raised concern regarding overlooking of the adjoining public reserve”.
“These concerns also tied in with the demographic of the residents which may occupy the
boarding house and concerns around safety and security.”
Local Maureen Vella told the panel that the proposal was not in keeping with the local community, which has become settled by families with young children.
But the council said the location of the boarding house close to the park was not a determining factor in recommending the DA be refused.
Mr Bennett told the panel that rents for the rooms would range from about $400 to $425 per week and that he expected mainly “young professionals” to apply for rooms.
“I guess teachers, police, nurses would probably be involved, as well, as an applicant,” he said.
“I think the level of beauty of this project on the whole, the design will be very favourable to an applicant.”
Architest Steve Koolloos told the panel that some public submissions about this DA contained “sterotypical comments about the type of people that will live here” and that the comments were “based on fear drawn from stigma”.
The council did recommend, however, to the independent Northern Beaches Local Planning Panel, that it refuse the DA because, under state planning rules, the nearest bus stop was outside the “accessible area” for the boarding house residents.
Bus stops must be within 400m of the property. If a resident of the proposed boarding house used footpaths and roadways to reach the nearest bus stop, on McIntosh Rd, they would have to walk 500m.
“(It is) not suitable for a boarding house development as the site does not provide for a high level of access to the nearest bus stop due to the walking distance required for potential residents to access this bus stop and the surrounding essential services,” the council assessment report stated.
But the developer argued in a submission to the panel that the nearest bus stop was actually 324m away, if a resident walked through the park.
A town planning consultant’s report commissioned by the developer stated that the boarding house was in a “appropriate, practicable, walking distance through the adjoining park land”.
“The site is highly accessible to regular bus services connecting it to employment areas. It is
also within level walking distance of shops, services, childcare, schools, a community
centre and high amenity recreational spaces given the parkland setting that the benefits
the site.”
The panel voted unanimously to refuse the DA.
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