Draft plans for the redevelopment of the old Carlton and United
Breweries site at Chippendale are undergoing final changes before public
exhibition.
The plans, which specify building height, conservation and
heritage requirements, parking and traffic controls and provision of open
space, should be finalised this month.
The Central Sydney Planning Committee, the consent authority
for the site, has deferred publication of the final plans to accommodate
further talks with the City of Sydney Council
and owner Carlton
and United Breweries (CUB) on heritage buildings, street configuration,
sunlight access and residential amenities.
Development of the site has been controversial since CUB
decided to move its brewery operation to Queensland
more than two years ago. Revised planning controls are intended to ensure
appropriate development and to provide certainty for local residents and any
future developer, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said earlier in the year.
The final plans will see proposals to retain and protect
additional significant heritage buildings, Andrew
McKenzie, spokesperson for the Lord Mayor, told Southside
News.
The Council has asked that two buildings – the old Malt
Store and another belonging to the Irving
Street brewing complex – be included as heritage
items in the plans. Retention of these buildings and of the historic street
layout could compromise CUB’s plan
for a Little Broadway shopping high street in the precinct.
Council consultants propose an alternative shopping strip be
located on Balfour Street.
The Council is also negotiating to secure childcare and
community facilities, and the provision of a 5000 square metre park. CUB
spokesman Geoff Donohue said: “We have always been supportive of a
voluntary planning agreement as the best way to deliver public benefits on the
site. We’re also committed to
preserving and interpreting the heritage values of the site and have identified
a number of buildings for new heritage listings.”
According to draft plans the Council wants to integrate the
CUB site with the neighbourhood through the gradation of building height from
the northern end of the site at Broadway down to the southern end at
Chippendale. The preferred scheme includes two 96-metre high towers opposite UTS.
However, plans may run into problems from local residents.
Lindsay Charles, spokesperson for Chippendale Residents’
Interest Group, said: “We dispute the need for towers this tall on the
site. They appear to simply be packing people in to increase developers’ profits, rather than seeking good urban design and
environmental outcomes. Chippendale is not the CBD.”
Charles criticised the planning committee, which is made up
of NSW Government and Council representatives, for approving an interim parking
rate of 0.97 spaces per residential unit at the site, in spite of public
transport accessibility. The City’s
parking rates are currently under review.
The 5.8-hectare site, which operated as a brewery from 1835
until January 2005, is expected to house up to 3000 residents in addition to
providing commercial premises.
The RTA is yet to test the impact of increased traffic in
the area and to endorse external road reconfigurations.
Australand Holdings Ltd withdrew from a $203m development
contract with CUB in March 2005 following conflict with the City of Sydney Council regarding
the site’s planning controls.