‘Recipe for disaster’: Randwick Council to vote on K2K proposal
A school P & C group has lashed out at a proposal to surround the light rail corridor between Kingsford and Kensington with towers up to 18-storeys. SEE WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED.
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A school P&C has hit out at plans for towers of up to 18-storeys along the light rail corridor describing it as a “recipe for disaster”.
The Kensington and Kingsford Town Centres planning proposal (K2K) has been in the pipeline for more than three years.
In August, the proposal was put out for public exhibition and will now go before Randwick Council on November 26 for councillors to decide whether to endorse it.
The huge proposal relates to the light rail corridor along Anzac Parade between Kingsford and Kensington – focusing on two stretches on either side of UNSW.
It will allow developers to build up to 17 and 18 storeys (or 60m) in small pockets of the Kensington and Kingsford town centres.
Towers up to nine storeys (or 31m) will be the restriction for the majority of properties along the corridor.
Currently, the height restriction for the area is seven storeys (or 24m).
However, not everyone is happy about the rezoning strategy.
Kensington Public School is located within a stone’s throw of one of the proposed 18-storey sites.
P&C president Jock Marmotta said safety was a huge concern for parents.
“Let’s say the building is erected and the light rail turns into a hub, it will be a recipe for disaster.”
He said the increased traffic as well as congested streets, with new residents needing more parking, would make it hazardous for children walking close to the school.
Mr Marmotta added privacy and shade would also be an issue for the pupils if an 18-storey building was erected behind the school.
A survey was carried out by the P&C which found 91 per cent of parents (of 67 parents who took part) believed the K2K would adversely affect the safety and wellbeing of children and staff.
He said the P&C wanted to see the proposal amended to restrict building heights to no more than nine storeys.
The council confirmed, under the proposal, it would make sure there was a laneway between the school and any buildings behind it, to give children safe access.
Randwick Council also confirmed any buildings adjoining the laneway would only be a maximum of five storeys tall, with the tallest buildings (up to 18 storeys) fronting Anzac Parade.
The council stated it has conducted studies which suggest traffic increases can be accommodated within the corridor’s street system, and it is also undertaking further analysis to examine pedestrian safety.
One of the major aims of the K2K is to “support growth” and “improve local connections to public transport by focusing density around light rail infrastructure”.
In 2016, the council ran a design competition to generate ideas about how the Kensington and
Kingsford town centres may be developed into the future.
Randwick Council used the best ideas from the competition to produce its own strategy.
The council had previously received planning proposals from developers in the area, including for more than 20-storeys, and had knocked them back.
As a result, the council decided to produce a planning strategy for the future.
During the process the Department of Planning and the council has gone back-and-forth to finalise the proposal.
Disagreements over the number of dwellings allowed under the proposal and the amount of money developers have to contribute to the council to improve infrastructure have raised issues.
The department has since backed down on its call to add an extra 600 dwellings to the 1500 new homes allowed under the K2K.