We have decided to go ahead with our Community Meeting on Thursday 22nd September to give residents and businesses as much time and information they need to understand the potential impacts of the current and possible future development plans for Marrickville and surrounding suburbs. 

We have just been alerted that Council has halted all work on the studies in Dulwich Hill, Marrickville and North Ashfield, following a unanimous Council resolution at the Council meeting on 13 September to halt the process. Council is seeking advice from the NSW Government on how the government’s mandated housing targets can be considered across the whole LGA, as well as legal advice explaining how Councillors should manage potential conflicts of interest relating to the process. 

This is breaking NEWS and Save Marrickville is trying to get more information about what this means for the community. We believe that the urban design studies are still on the table and we have no idea how the State Government will respond over housing targets.

We want to use our community meeting to give you an update on what we know and open the floor for questions and comments. We have been granted this rare extra time to consider a potentially highly destructive plan. We are seeking your thoughts. It is very likely the consultation will be reinstated at some unknown date…. So let’s get together to talk about it now.

Details for the night:

Community Meeting

Thursday 22nd September

Marrickville Bowling Club (we encourage everyone to buy a drink to support the club)

91 Sydenham Rd, Marrickville

7pm to 8.30pm

We hope to see you there.

FYI, some media attention this week:

SMH

CityHub

It is crunch time for Marrickville! The Urban Design Study for Marrickville and The Heritage Study are now on Council's Your Say page. The studies and your feedback will be used to develop the new Local Environment Plan (LEP) and Development Control Plan (DCP). The urban design study is proposing significant changes to Marrickville Town Centre. The proposed plans could lead to the disappearance of the current Marrickville Town Centre, replacing it with buildings of up to 6-12 storeys.

Save Marrickville is still sifting through both the Marrickville Urban Design Study and the Heritage Report but some of the recommendations that you should know about include:

1. Increasing allowable building heights to 8-storeys on Illawarra Road, Petersham Rd and around the train station
2. Two key sites have been identified that could facilitate 12 storey "landmark " buildings at Station St (just off Illawarra Rd near the train station) and at the corner of Illawarra Rd and Petersham Rd (previous Cornersmith cafe site).
3. Increased density by rezoning selected areas near to the train station to R4 (High Density Residential) including Greenbank Street, Church Street, Leofrene Avenue, Riverdale Avenue, Harriet Street, Fletcher Street and Albion Street. The rezoning would allow 4-5 storey residential flat buildings.
4. Rezoning Petersham Road to B2 (Local Centre) to transform it into a mixed-use high street. The urban design centre talks about Petersham Rd as an important linking road and recommends transforming Petersham Rd into a shared green street that prioritises pedestrian and cyclist movements.
5. Increasing allowable building heights on Marrickville Road from 20m to 23m to facilitate buildings with better amenity while maintaining the existing 6-storey height control
6. The Exchange Hotel is listed for Heritage Status as well as a few new smaller areas. Disappointingly, the Heritage Map of Marrickville is very empty, particularly in comparison to other suburbs in the IW LGA. 

It is critically important that you are aware of the proposed changes. Their impact will be much greater than any of the development we've seen so far.

Inner West Council states that it is planning for sustainable growth and development focussing on: 

1. Housing growth in Marrickville, Dulwich Hill and North Ashfield (uplift around main streets and railway stations)
2. Heritage (unfortunately very few listings for Marrickville)
3. Low carbon precincts
4. Car parking in new developments (looking to minimise car parking)

Council is asking the community ‘Are we on the right track?’. Here are a couple of things you can do:

1. Attend Save Marrickville’s public meeting to discuss the plans on Thursday 22nd September, Marrickville Bowling Club, 7pm.
2. If you only have 5 minutes: Read the summary and answer Council's 5 question survey by Sunday 25th September.
3. If you have more time or you feel strongly: Make a submission to Council by Sunday 25th September.
4. Contact your elected Councillors to let them know your concerns.

There is not much time to absorb the information. This phase of Council’s engagement with the community ends on September 25th so please get your submissions and survey answers submitted asap. The community feedback will be used to draft planning controls. Please share this information so that as many people as possible can express their views. Once the LEP and DCP are approved by the Department of Planning they will not be able to be reversed and the community will not be able to fight proposals based on height and FSR in rezoned areas.

The recommendations concern us. We know that things are changing and development is going to occur. However, we would like it to be equitable in the LGA. Our goals for Marrickville’s future development include:

- Keeping development in scale with the streetscape, therefore no higher than 5 storeys with 2 storeys at street front. Going to a height of 8 storeys is excessively high on narrow roads such as Illawarra Rd and Petersham Rd.

- Compelling developers to include true affordable housing, as well as providing permanent housing, not serviced apartments or build to rent units.

- A Heritage Conservation Area covering Marrickville Town Centre to protect heritage buildings and character on Marrickville and Illawarra and Rds.

Council is about to start the next phase of community consultation about the latest urban planning documents. These plans control how, where and to what extent development occurs in our community. It is important!

You can find all the details here: https://yoursay.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/local-planning

There are a number of webinars and drop in sessions across the inner west.

For Marrickville specifically, IWC is conducting webinars on the main documents that have been prepared:
- Marrickville Urban Design Study, Thursday 25th August 6pm-7.20pm (register via the link above)
- Heritage Study, Wednesday 7th September, 6pm-7.20pm (register via the link above)

There are also two drop in sessions where people can ask general questions:
- Marrickville Station, next Tuesday 23rd August, between 4-6pm
- Marrickville Library, Saturday 27th August, between 10am-4pm.

Look up the documents on Council’s DA tracker. You can enter as a guest, click on ‘application tracking’ and type in the DA number to see the documentation. This is also where you can also lodge a submission to object to the DA. Information about lodging a submission can be found here and includes tips for writing a submission: https://www.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/develop/development-applications/information-for-neighbours

Email or call the planner responsible for the DA and have a conversation to respectfully express your concerns and hear their views. The planner to contact will be listed on the notification letter you may have received from council or on the notification sign that should be posted on the property. If you are unsure of who to contact, call the Council and quote the DA number to be connected to the council officer responsible.

IMPORTANT: If you object to the DA write your own submission and submit via Council's submission process. If you don't want to submit via the Council's online platform, call Council and ask if there is another way to submit an objection. Don’t be overwhelmed by this, being succinct and using dot points is encouraged. State your concerns and describe how the development will impact you. Stick to the facts and avoid ranting. If you have more than one concern consider using headings. You can also include photos if they help you make your case. Don’t forget to include your address, the DA number and your contact details.

Talk to your neighbours, share your concerns with them and encourage them to also submit an objection. Objections from neighbours and people along the street are held in high regard. You could place a flyer in people’s letterbox alerting them to the DA and stating why you object or you could do a door-knock (with another person) if you are able.

Create a petition. You can create a paper based petition or you can use Change.org for a digital version. Ask friends and groups to share your petition on their social media platforms. Every petition, whether paper or online, needs to include: a short headline title to say what the petition is about, a clear and concise statement about the subject of the petition – this should describe what action the petitioner wishes the Council to take and your own name and address. People who sign your petition need to provide their name, suburb and preferably their email address.

Email Councillors about your concerns ensuring that you let them know that you have also formally written an objection to the DA and quote the DA number.

If the DA is going to be presented to Council attend the Council meeting and arrange to speak at the meeting to voice your concerns directly to Council. Please note: only those who have made formal written submissions will be able to speak at a Council meeting about the DA. You will have to register to speak at the meeting before 2pm on the day of the meeting so keep an eye out for email notifications and check the Inner West Council website.

Note: Ever been surprised by a building being demolished all of a sudden? Getting on the front foot with a development is key to being able to have a say on the developments in your local neighbourhood. Keep an eye out for DA notices stuck to fences and doors and sign up to Planning Alerts. There will only be a certain amount of time you have to submit an objection so keep an eye out for those deadlines.

A revised development application has been submitted for 315-321 Illawarra Road. The proposed development is ‘to demolish existing improvements and construct a 6 storey mixed use building comprising retail and commercial tenancies with serviced apartments above and basement parking.’ It is important to note that the previous DA was rejected by Inner West Council. 

Local residents have contacted Save Marrickville with their concerns. There is a petition you can sign objecting to the development in its current form. It can be viewed and signed here. 

Submissions can be lodged with Council until 19th May, 2022 via this link.

Save Marrickville has previously objected to this proposal and you can read our earlier submission here. It appears that the new DA is similar to the revised proposal. The objections that we had to the DA as lodged with Council in September 2020 were: 

1. The proposed building design and form including the street-front façade facing Illawarra Road is not sympathetic with the federation/ Edwardian buildings and shopfronts on this section of Illawarra Road, and should be redesigned to be sympathetic with the character of Marrickville Town Centre on Marrickville and Illawarra Roads. 
2. The 6 storey building height in the amended DA is too high and should be limited to 5 storeys, which is the allowed height under the current Local Environment Plan. Excessive height will unreasonably increase the building’s dominance over neighbouring commercial buildings and residences, negatively impact on the area’s character, and negatively impact shadowing and privacy. 
3. The building height where the façade/ building front connects with Illawarra Road is too high at three storeys and should be two storeys to be sympathetic with the surrounding streetscape’s scale and character.
4. The set-back from Illawarra Road for the storeys between three and five is not adequate and should be twelve metres, again to be sympathetic with the existing streetscape. 
5. Car parking spaces in the proposal are not adequate and should be increased from twelve to twenty eight car spaces for the proposed thirty six studio apartments. 
6. The vehicular access in the proposal would create a risk and impede access for pedestrians, and should be redesigned to protect and preserve pedestrian access along Illawarra Road. 
7. Land use as Serviced Apartments is not consistent with existing land uses in the surrounding area, will provide no permanent accommodation for residents, and should not be viewed as a rationale for increasing building height and density, or reducing parking spaces

Further Information

The full document on why council rejected the previous application can be viewed here.

The latest submitted DA can be viewed here.

Save Marrickville hosted a 'Meet the Candidates' event for the Marrickville-Midjuburi ward for the Inner West LGA. We want to thank the candidates, Mat Howard (ALP), Justine Langford (GRN) and Vic Macri (IND) for giving us their time to discuss issues of development, industrial lands retention, heritage and green space. Thanks also to those who attended and the Marrickville Hardcourt Tennis Club for allowing us to use their venue.

For those who missed out on the event you can view the video here.

Local government elections are being held on Saturday 4th December. All the information you need to know can be found here. This includes where you can vote on the day, pre-polling dates and locations and information about the de-amalgamation poll. Don't let the de-amalgamation poll surprise you in the ballot box - have a look at the information provided by the Council before you vote so you can make your own informed decision.

If you want to review all the candidates standing for election to the Inner West Council you can find them listed on the NSW Electoral Commission website. You can even look at each candidate's information sheet to see what other organisations they belong to and their suburb of residence. Some candidates have written a little about themselves on these information sheets.

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And some other things....

You might be interested in this opinion piece in the City Hub by Pip Hinman about de-amalgamation.

If you see something missing from the candidate street advertising this article might help explain the lack of endorsed Liberal Party candidates in some council areas.

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Important community event....

The Inner West Community Strategic Plan is currently being reviewed by Council staff. This 20 year plan identifies the community's vision for the future, long term goals, strategies to get there and how to measure progress towards that vision. To have your say about the plan you can join an online forum on Wednesday 24 November, 6.00-7.30pm or you can complete the online survey. More information can be found here.

Wednesday 3rd November, 6.30pm

We go to the polls for our local government representatives in early December. Local government has an important say in our development constraints, character, heritage protection and streetscapes.

Save Marrickville is hosting a “Meet the Candidates” event for candidates for the Marrickville - Midjuburi ward. This is an opportunity for our local community to hear what each candidate is committed to on a range of issues. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions of each candidate.

When: Wednesday 3rd November

Candidates attending: Mat Howard (ALP), Justine Langford (Greens) and Vic Macri (Independent). 

Venue: Marrickville Hardcourt Tennis Club (food and drinks available on the night from the Portuguese restaurant, Casa Do Benfica, on site)

Address: 33 Centennial St, behind Henson Park

Time: 6.30pm (for a 7pm start) to 9pm

Due to COVID-19 restrictions we need you to register for this free event via this link.

We hope you can join us on the night, take your opportunity to meet the candidates and let them know what is important to you.

For some time housing in our area has become more expensive. As local residents, we are concerned to protect the physical character and charm of our neighbourhood, and it is also important to support the people who live in our community. Our community is made up of people on a range of incomes and various occupations, and that is a key part of the Marrickville community’s character. If all local housing becomes too expensive, Marrickville will lose many of the people who now live here.

Developers often say they want to provide affordable housing, but new developments usually knock down more cheap rentals than they provide, as new dwellings are usually more expensive. Save Marrickville supports more affordable housing, but bulldozing our heritage buildings and local character is not a good way to address our housing crisis. This is a critically important issue. Federal and State governments have the greatest opportunity to provide affordable housing. Winding back investor tax breaks that inflate house prices, investigating an empty house tax (like they have in Vancouver, Canada) and providing more social housing, would make a real difference. Inner West Council can also play a role through their Affordable Housing Revised Scheme. Save Marrickville has written a position paper on Affordable Housing, you can read it here. We have distributed our written position to numerous Councillors.  

The Sydney Eastern Planning Panel met on the 10th of June to determine the DA at 2-18 Station St, Marrickville. This DA included the demolition of existing structures and construction of a mixed use development comprising a boarding house and a commercial tenancy. Save Marrickville objected to the application due to height and bulk as well as issues of parking, shadowinging and privacy. The original DA was refused by Inner West Council officers.

The panel determined that "the application to vary development standards (Height and FSR) was not worthy of approval and the development application must be refused". The panel did not believe that the site is suitable for development and necessary investigations and reports should be undertaken prior to any new DA being lodged. The full details of the panels' decision can be found here.

Among the reasons for the decision include (but is not limited to):

- Request for 23.88% variation of height of buildings within clause 4-3 of Marrickville Environment Plan 2011 could not be justified and is not considered to be in the public interest.

- The visual bulk is out of scale with the surrounding locality and does not provide sufficient transition from the highest part to the nearby low-density residential zone.

- The architectural design of the building would not be in harmony with the established or future character of the area.

- The proposal does not provide a high standard of design in the private and public domain.

- The site is not suitable for a development of this bulk and scale noting the issues with loading and waste collection.

- Proposed waste collection on Station St would block one way Station St traffic and collection point in "No Stopping Zone.

- The car parking proposed is deficient given the intensity of of the development (221 possible boarders, managers and 3 commercial spaces needed) when assessed in accordance with Marrickville DCP 2011, specific development controls C72, C73,C74 and is inconsistent with the relevant desired future character statement.

- The proposed private open space for manager rooms is of low amenity due to location and size and is inconsistent with Control C6 of MCD Plan 2011.

In coming to its decision, the Panel considered written objections made during the public exhibition and heard from all those wishing to address the Panel. Three local Marrickville residents (including a member of Save Marrickville) spoke at the Panel meeting. The Panel noted the issues of community concern included: excessive bulk; lack of transition; excessive FSR; lack of parking and additional traffic; overshadowing; privacy impacts; lack of compatibility with the character of the area; impact on stability of the Illawarra Road bridge; lack of sufficient managers and no assurance the development will be used for affordable housing and poor architectural design and colours; as well as a variety of other concerns.

Thanks to all who wrote submissions and commented on Planning Alerts.

We wanted to alert the community to a current DA lodged with Inner West Council. The DA includes the demolition of two art deco apartment blocks at 50-52 Warren Road Marrickville to build a 4-storey 42 room boarding house. Save Marrickville has submitted an objection to this DA. You can read our submission to Council here.

Our summary of objection is:

Save Marrickville objects to the proposal development and supports retaining the existing two art deco unit blocks on the grounds of:

• Inconsistency with the future vision for Marrickville

• Architectural heritage value

• Negative impact on surrounding neighbours and streetscape

• Loss of current affordable 1 and 2 bedroom housing stock for speculative development

• Development overly high and dense, and overcrowding of the site. 

You can view the application and lodge a submission via Council's online self-service portal, through the ‘Application Tracking' section. Search for DA/2021/0066 to find the documentation. Submissions close on 12th April 2021.