After submissions on the proposed development on Sandgate Road in Nundah closed last year and despite the changes made to the plan, issues still hound the controversial development proposal.
The proposed development is for a multiple dwelling of 72 units above 12 retail tenancies on the site of a local heritage place and involving a partial demolition of a commercial character building.
Original proposed design
Proposed new design
The proposal met strong opposition from the residents and sparked an online petition that saw over two thousand individuals supporting the petition. By the end of the consultation period, over 150 submissions have been lodged by the locals as well.
An information request by the Council was issued on March 2018 asking the applicant to respond to the issues that were brought up such as the “heritage impacts, building height, architectural design, streetscape interface, traffic impacts, parking, air quality, amenity impacts, landscaping, unit sizes and land use mix.”
In their response to the information request submitted 16 October 2018, the applicant amended their plans and changes to the key design elements they summarised under the following:
- Provision of a strong, two-storey podium element which is designed to provide an architectural rhythm in keeping with the retained Local heritage façade. This also integrates apartments into the second level, akin to shop-top-living, and removes any double height glazing along the ground level, providing better articulation and a stronger village feel to the street frontages.
- In terms of the number of storeys, the building is now six storeys to Sandgate Road and seven storeys to the rear of the site. This is a significant reduction of 2 to 3 storeys from the 9 storeys as noted by Council in the Information Request. This provision of stepped height from Sandgate Road to the rear of the site is due to the top storey being set back significantly from Sandgate Road, with rooftop communal area now overlooking Sandgate Road.
- The ground level and access have been amended to ensure that all access and servicing are provided for on site, with servicing hours limited to mitigate any potential amenity concerns for nearby and proposed residents. A designated and clearly identifiable residential lobby is also provided off Chapel Street, as is a pedestrian pathway to the rear tenancies.
- Additional landscaping is provided along the Chapel Street frontage, as well as throughout the communal open space.
- The retention of the Local Heritage building has been further considered with the design now providing for consideration and retention of both the ground and upper storey, and a more significant extent of the depth of the building also, with the tower above set back by up to 7m from Sandgate Road.
Despite the changes in the plan, Councillor Adam Allan still has concerns about the project including the micro apartment —which he considers very small — that was added to the proposal, and the inadequate number of parking and common areas. Overall, he thinks that the proposal is not the kind of development that is right for Nundah.
Find the updates on the development application DA004831430 here.