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.

The Inner West Local Planning Panel has refused the demolition of 3 houses and the development application for 6 storeyed serviced apartments at 315-321 Illawarra Rd. The proposed building towered over the Central Avenue residents and would have overshadowed them and stolen light and privacy.

Marrickville residents including two from Central Avenue and a Save Marrickville Representative addressed the panel via Zoom on Tuesday 8th December to express objections to the DA.

The decision of the panel was unanimous in its rejection of the proposal which was not considered to be in the public interest. Reasons listed by the panel to support their refusal of the DA include:

- The development represents a significant variation from the height of buildings development standard in the Marrickville LEP 2011.

- The development is inconsistent with the desired future character objectives for the Marrickville Town Centre Commercial Planning Precinct.

- The development results in unacceptable visual privacy on adjoining residential development.

- The proposal does not exhibit design excellence.

Thank you to all the people who wrote submissions regarding this DA.

Save Marrickville has made a submission to Council regarding the amended Development Application 201900421 for 315-321 Illawarra Road Marrickville – you can read it here.

Save Marrickville does not oppose reasonable shop-top developments provided these:

• – are architecturally sensitive to the character of surrounding buildings,
• – do not exceed LEP height limits, and
• – have adequate set backs.

Unfortunately, the amended DA does not meet these basic standards. This DA, if approved, would greatly undermine the Council’s Local Strategic Planning Statement objective to plan for “high quality housing growth . . . with respect for place, character and heritage significance.”

The proposed 6 storey modern-style building would seriously damage the character of this heritage precinct in Marrickville Town Centre, as it is not sympathetic to the mainly Edwardian/Federation shopfronts. See below graphics from the developer’s application, showing the proposed building and adjacent shops.

This proposed development would also compromise Council’s South Area Urban Design Study, which is being prepared to help plan the future built form and character of this area.

Save Marrickville will advocate on behalf the local community’s interests, for future development to respect Marrickville’s character and heritage.

We wanted to let the community know that an amended DA has been submitted to Inner West Council for 315-321 Illawarra Rd (DA201900421). Unfortunately many of the items of concern in our original objection to this DA in May 2020 have not been addressed. A summary of our objections to the amended DA lodged with Council in September 2020 are that in the proposal:

1. The proposed building design and form including the street-front façade facing Illawarra Road is not sympathetic with other 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 including Marrickville Road. The built form in the amended DA is even more unsympathetic to adjacent heritage buildings than in the original DA.
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 LEP. 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. This issue in our original proposal has not been addressed.
4. The set-back from Illawarra Road for the storeys between 3 and 5 is not adequate and should be 12 metres, again to be sympathetic with the existing streetscape. This issue in our original proposal has not been addressed.
5. Car parking spaces in the proposal are not adequate and should be increased from 12 to 28 car spaces for the proposed 30 odd studio apartments. This issue in our original proposal has not been addressed.
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. This issue in our original proposal has not been addressed.
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.
8. Is against the current Local Environment Plan regarding height and character, and sets a poor precedent as Council works with residents to frame the new LEP.

There isn't much time to object to this DA - submission close on Tuesday 29th September. You can view the documentation (including an image of the proposed building) and make a submission via the application tracking portal on the Inner West Council website.

Save Marrickville has prepared a submission objecting to the DA for 10 storey boarding house at 2-18 Station St Marrickville. We encourage you to view the development application via the Inner West Council website and make you own submission. The deadline for submissions is the 14th September and you can email submissions to [email protected]

Our submission covers:

Height and bulk - 33% over existing height limits & 66% over floor space ratio
The proposed building height of 10 storeys and 34 metres is well above the allowed limit under the Council’s current LEP.

Set backs, shadowing and privacy
The proposed building does not have set backs or transition to adjacent properties, which are one and two storeys high.

Parking – completely inadequate for proposed resident numbers and business needs
The DA proposes 46 parking spaces for the 130 rooms (potentially 244 residents).

Character and heritage
The current proposal due to its height, bulk, lack of transition and design, is completely out of character with the surrounding historic streetscape.

No guarantee of affordable housing
The development application suggests that this development will provide significant affordable housing, with 80% occupied by key workers or students. However there is no evidence to support these suggestions, which should be given no weight in consideration of this DA

The full submission can be viewed here.

Sydney Metro (City & Southwest) has released a draft Station Design and Precinct Plan (SDPP) for Marrickville Station. The plan shows how the new station design has developed and how it will integrate with the surrounding precinct. You can view it here.

We have compiled our own feedback and you can read the full report here. 

Summary of our key feedback on the Plan is that Save Marrickville:

1. Supports planned conservation of the original layout and finishes of station buildings.
2. Is concerned at proposed removal of heritage brick platform walls and requests more information.
3. Recommends inclusion of rest rooms for both men and women on both platforms, to be accessible and available at all times.
4. Recommends heritage station buildings and platforms be retained for use by the public and for provision of public transport for the public, and not for private commercial gain.
5. Recommends heritage ticket office on Platform 2 be made available for public use.
6. Recommends design of Platform Screen Doors (PSDs) and Mechanical Gap Fillers (MGFs) do not devalue the character and heritage value of the station buildings and platforms.
7. Supports completion of a shared cycle and pedestrian pathway between Station and Myrtle Streets.
8. Requests more detailed information and opportunity for further feedback regarding the proposed design and use of station buildings, and proposed design of Platform Screen Doors and Mechanical Gap Fillers, as details cannot be determined from diagrams or text.

If you have any concerns or feedback on the Plan we urge you to let Sydney Metro know. Feedback on the Plan can be emailed to [email protected] by 5pm Friday 24 July 2020.

If this is the first you have heard about the Marrickville Station Plan you might want to register with Sydney Metro for updates which you can do through their website here.

Council is considering a development application for 315-321 Illawarra Road, which would demolish existing federation houses and build 5 storeys of 38 serviced apartments. Save Marrickville has sent an objection/submission regarding this DA. The full DA papers can be found at the following Council link, by entering DA201900421.

https://eproperty.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/eServices/P1/eTrack/eTrackApplicationSearch.aspx?r=MC.P1.WEBGUEST&f=MC.P1.ETR.SEARCH.ENQ

We are asking you to consider whether you are able to make a short objection/submission regarding this DA. You could include that:

• The proposed building would spoil the character of this historic area of federation shops.
• 3 storey building frontage at Illawarra Rd is too high and would dominate the surrounding 2 storey buildings.
• Set back of only 6 metres from Illawarra Road for the higher storeys is not enough.
• The proposed design and decoration of the building does not match that of federation shop fronts along Illawarra Road.

You can email your objection/submission ASAP to Council at [email protected] and quote DA201900421.

Inner West Council’s draft Housing Strategy includes the text “...Carrington Road is identified as significantly restrained and should not be considered for residential purposes” (p112, 6.2.3). At the next Council meeting on Tuesday 3rd of March there is a proposed amendment to remove the words “should not be considered for residential purposes.” We understand that this amendment was requested by the Carrington precinct landowners and the developer Mirvac.

Save Marrickville believes that this amendment would represent a significant shift in Council’s position on the potential residential development of Carrington Road, and the preservation of industrial land. We have talked to some Councillors and emailed them to let them know that we are opposed to the proposed amendment and want to retain the original wording.

Council will vote on this at its meeting at Ashfield Civic Centre, 260 Liverpool Road Ashfield, which starts 6.30 pm Tuesday 3rd March. The meeting is open to the public if people are interested to attend.

NEWS UPDATE (4th March 2020)

Save Marrickville members attended last night's Council meeting (Tuesday 3rd March) and are pleased to report that the original wording of Council's draft Housing Strategy “...Carrington Road is identified as significantly restrained and should not be considered for residential purposes” (p112, 6.2.3) was retained. We were particularly heartened by Mayor Darcy Byrne's strong statements about not supporting rezoning of the Carrington Rd industrial land now or into the future. We would like to thank and acknowledge the support of Councillors. We had valuable discussions with Councillors Mark Drury (Labor), Colin Hesse (Greens) and Pauline Lockie (Progressive Independent).

The Inner West Council publicly exhibited a number of important strategic documents last year. Council is operating to a very tight deadline to produce a draft Local Environment Plan (LEP) this year. This means that their draft Housing Strategy, draft Employment and Retail Lands Strategy and draft Local Strategic Planning Statement were released in succession in the latter part of 2019. It is difficult for any community member to properly digest these documents and make a considered submission and we thank those who were able to make their voice heard by responding to Council. There will be more opportunities to contribute to Council’s strategic planning this year as we expect Council to publicly exhibit a draft LEP this year, which will set out Council’s future plans for our area’s zonings and building heights. It will be critical for the community to respond. We will publish dates of exhibition on our Facebook page and here on our website.

As a group we submitted submissions to many of their draft strategies which you can view in the links published below.

Local Strategic Planning Statement

As a key step in its planning for our area’s future, in September, Inner West Council released Our Place Inner West, its draft Local Strategic Planning Statement (LSPS) which includes Marrickville.

Save Marrickville provided a written response  and met with Council’s planning staff twice to discuss the draft plan. Some key areas covered were:

– In its retail centre hierarchy, Council has classified Marrickville’s retail area as a Town Centre, which is smaller scale than a Major Centre (Ashfield) but larger than a Local Centre (Dulwich Hill). In discussion with Council it appears the intention is that Marrickville Town Centre will have medium density development above shops and near the station, in the order of five storeys, rather than higher density.

– Marrickville is included as a Low Carbon, High Performance Precinct which are usually areas of greatest change and growth. These indicators usually give the green light to justify intense development. SM has therefore advocated strongly for Council to include a statement in that section of the LSPS, to make it clear that Marrickville is not an area of major growth and transformation.

– Council wants to retain industrial land in our area, and has not changed its position on this issue.

– We have argued for a tight definition of affordable housing in new developments, so that it is actually affordable (no more than 30% of income), for people on low incomes (lowest 40%), and managed by social housing agencies.

Council has revised the draft strategy taking into account the 117 survey responses and 65 separate submission from individuals/groups. The majority of respondents were from Dulwich Hill and Marrickville. The report on responses can be read here.

Council will determine whether to endorse the draft LSPS (with amendments recommended as a result of the public exhibition) for submission to the Greater Sydney Commission at the next Council meeting on 25 February 2020.

Housing Strategy and Employment and Retail Lands Strategy

Save Marrickville also provided a written response to Council regarding both the Housing Strategy  and the Employment and Retails Lands Strategy which you are welcome to read. Some key areas covered were:

– We indicated our support for Council’s goal to protect industrial land.

– We requested detailed heritage studies to be conducted for all of Marrickville with the aim of providing invaluable information about the current state of heritage that may be used to create Heritage Conservation areas.

– We were pleased to note that the IWC will meet housing targets without the need to re-zone land.

– We expressed our concern that Marrickville will be asked to take more of the share of future density to meet increasing population and housing targets imposed by the NSW State Government.

– We support the Council to assertively work towards closing the significant supply gap of affordable housing in our local government area. 

Council has released their response documents to community engagement which you can read here and here.

Council will determine whether to adopt the draft housing strategy (with amendments recommended as a result of the public exhibition) and seek endorsement from the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment for the strategies at the 25 February 2020 Council Meeting. 

Council also released other strategy documents during 2019 such as the Integrated Transport Strategy  and the Economic Development Strategic Plan which we were unable to comment on due to limited time and resources. Please get in touch if you would like to help out.