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By REBECCA HERNANDEZ
Randwick Council has voted unanimously to counter a proposal from the City of Sydney, which would see major development work occur at 118-130 Epsom Road and 905 South Dowling Street, Zetland.
Aimed at re-evaluating and changing planning controls, the draft proposition from Sydney would implement a variety of changes and lead to larger-scale redevelopment projects.
“The proposed changes will enable mixed-use development, […] including residential, commercial and retail uses, while securing enhanced public spaces and streets, greater housing diversity and good sustainability outcomes,” said the City of Sydney in their proposal.
Such changes include the “increasing the permitted build height” in certain areas, as well the introduction of a “variety of building types to provide more housing diversity”, and the addition of more “public spaces and streets”.
Randwick Responds
Going over the proposal, Randwick Council officers identified numerous problems, basing their uncertainty around how the project can affect the aesthetics, environment, and overall quality of life in the area.
“Councillors raised significant concern with the scale of the development and impact on nearby residents,” said the Council in a statement.
“Key issues include traffic and transport, height and built form, visual impact, alignment of height and floor space ratio controls, overshadowing, sustainability and strategic justification.”
Randwick officers subsequently prepared a counter-submission to the City of Sydney draft proposal, focused on both elaborating upon their voiced concerns while outlining potential solutions and next steps.
In discussing “transport and traffic”, and “traffic generation” for example, the submission identifies how roads along Green Square Epsom Park have already been “carrying traffic volumes well in excess of their environmental capacities” since studies were conducted in 2009.
Calculations for post-development traffic project an increase of “almost 300 more vehicles per hour” during morning and evening peaks – potentially leading to further issues for an area already inundated by vehicular activity.
Proposed Solutions
To address the problem, Randwick Council recommends a full-scale assessment of potential impacts by the City of Sydney prior to development, ensuring that diligence is done, and flow is preserved.
“A full assessment of traffic impacts from the future redevelopment of the site, as well as the cumulative impacts of the development of the Epsom Park precinct over the last decade, should be undertaken,” they state.
“A local area traffic study should [also] be undertaken with the aim of better managing the existing traffic and future traffic growth.”
These identifications and recommendations make up only a small portion of the Randwick submission, which goes into meticulous detail assessing the City of Sydney proposal.
The full submission can be found on the Randwick Council website.
While contacted, Randwick Council representatives were not able to respond in time for publication.