Newtown residents win their day in court

BY LYDIA WATSON MOORE

Newtown residents have breathed a sigh of relief after a controversial development application was refused in the Land and Environment Court.

The judgement, handed down on November 30, determined that the Alice Street 5 storey development could not be extended to six storeys as requested by the developer.

As reported by City Hub earlier in the year, residents had been fighting hard against the proposal, claiming the development was too big and damaging for the location.

Locals had been engaging with Marrickville Council, who had knocked back successive DAs from developer Al Maha to extend the site.

Campaigning resident Emma Rafferty said the residents were relieved at the decision, and said they were appreciative that Marrickville Council had kept up the fight.

“We’re really appreciative that Marrickville Council did hang in there rather then try to settle to save time and money because the case has really proved that [the extra floor] would have had a negative impact,” Ms Rafferty said.

She said the residents had put forward “factual, not emotional arguments”, which meant council had been willing to listen.

“Its nice to know that where the objections are valid and when the community gets together and the arguments are put forward in a measured way, then you can be heard,” she said.

“Everyone’s just really happy that common sense prevailed and we feel like the court has made the right decision for the community.”

The court decided that the floor space ratio proposed in the application exceeded suitable standards, meaning the development would be too dense for the location.

Traffic and parking also led to the refusal, as the Commissioner accepted resident evidence of the “regular traffic delays and congestion and significant competition for on-street car spaces”.

Greens Newtown MP Jenny Leong had also been campaigning against the DA, and told City Hub that the decision was a “wonderful win for the local community”.

“What it demonstrates is that developers like Al Maha need to learn and listen to the community and respect council’s planning provisions,” Ms Leong said.

She said the community’s “strong campaign against overdevelopment” had indicated that it was “not okay” for developers to exceed the floor space ratio.

Ms Leong also noted that while people may have argued the need for the extra floor due to Sydney’s housing crisis, this was not applicable here.

She said that the Marrickville Council LGA were in fact exceeding housing targets set in the Sydney Metropolitan Strategy by the State Government.

“I think a lot of people are like ‘oh the inner west is so anti-development’, but when you look at it, it’s other places that aren’t meeting their targets,” Ms Leong said.

City Hub’s efforts to contact Al Maha for a comment have consistently failed.