Council slams CBD high-rise plans for blocking views, shading parkland and not respecting heritage

New plans for the redevelopment of an entire CBD block in the heart of Wollongong have hit a considerable snag with Wollongong Council staff submitting a damning assessment to the NSW Government.

The Illawarra Flame understands Council shared the concerns of locals when told they had just 14 days to provide a review of what is the biggest single development project in the history of Wollongong's CBD.

To meet the tight deadline, Council's four-page submission provides a scathing critique, highlighting flaws in the project's design. And Council isn't done yet, adding: "Council will be providing a more comprehensive submission next week" (after the official deadline for submissions closed).

We will get to the Council's submission shortly, but it seems bizarre that senior Council staff were beavering away on their assessment of the new skyscraper plans while many elected councillors were in the dark about what was happening.

The community, which relies on its councillors to represent its views and hear its concerns, was also either oblivious to the plans or learning of them by chance. Such is the hit and miss nature of community engagement and consultation in the mid 2020s, when, increasingly it seems, expediency rules and the consequences can be dealt with some time down the track.

New plans lack 'community benefit'

Local community group Neighbourhood Forum 5 strongly objected to the plans from developer Level 33, saying they were "a far cry" from those approved in 2023 from WIN TV owner Bruce Gordon.

Gone were a cinema complex, a publicly accessible swimming pool, and a park.

According to objectors, like inner-city resident Patricia O'Brien, the new plan put profits ahead of people and community benefit.

The plan includes four high-rise residential towers, the tallest at 38 storeys. More than 1,000 people are expected to live in the 546 apartments, sitting alongside a 10-storey commercial building and eight-storey hotel.

Council has a long list of concerns

Wollongong Council's submission agrees to a large extent with the issues raised by the 29 objections sent to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.  In fact, it goes further.

A long list of concerns raised by Council include the blocking of views to the escarpment, shading of MacCabe Park, poor pedestrian access, the loss of established street trees, impact on the heritage-listed Spotlight building, inadequate waste management, and the loss of an important cultural element with the removal of the cinema, health facilities and an exhibition space from the original design. 

Without saying it in so many words, Council is effectively telling the developer to go back to the drawing board and do better. There's no mincing of words when Council says "plans for each building facade are too small and lacking in detail" and "the architectural drawings should include a greater number of visual representations of each building, entry point, public plaza areas, intersections and through links to understand the appearance, amenity and function of those spaces." 

It seems in putting its plans together, the developer was in a similar rush as was the Department of Planning in getting them out and into the public domain for a shortened period to review and comment.

The community will be asking if this is the brave new world we face with the passing of new planning laws last week to speed up approvals for new housing? Talking up those planning reforms, Minister Scully said we "shouldn't be sweating the small stuff". In Wollongong's CBD, we have a $275m city-changing project on the boil. It's little wonder, as people gradually find out about what's planned, largely by word of mouth, they're increasingly starting to sweat and get hot under the collar.

Loss of important escarpment views

To unpack the Council submission, its key concerns are as follows:

• The widening of the tallest tower will significantly impact views towards Mt Kembla and Flagstaff Hill. "The view to Mt Kembla (Jumbulla) and Mt Keira (Djeera) are considered the highest value components of this view. Uninterrupted views to Mt Keira and Mt Kembla are considered vital due to their cultural and spiritual significance," Council's submission says. It says the developer "fails to acknowledge the cultural significance of these view lines".
• The plans submitted indicate overshadowing of MacCabe Park between 12-2pm in breach of Wollongong's Local Environmental Plan.
• The removal of The Grand pub, a cinema, health facilities and exhibition space is described by Council as "disappointing". "It should be demonstrated how the land use mix will contribute to the vitality of the CBD, particularly given the increase in the number of residents arising from this development and other similar developments in the CBD."
• Council also expressed concern about the lack of building separation between two of the tower blocks, saying "having such minimal separation compromises the amenity of units and results in a form across the site that appears as one consolidated mass and limits views between towers."
• The tallest tower block raises concerns from Council in the degree to which it encroaches above the heritage former Marcus Clark Building (now occupied by Spotlight). "The tower setbacks should ensure the Clock Tower element can be read as the most prominent element in Crown Street. The tower form should not overwhelm the heritage item," Council's submission said.
• "The large direct flight of stairs from Burelli Street into the plaza is not considered an attractive entry point to the plaza.

Retain street trees

The Council submission also raised concerns over the need to retain mature street trees, the lack of space on each floor of the 38-storey tower for the disposal of recyclable materials or FOGO, and "meaningful sustainability measures must be incorporated into the development".

Council also expressed concern that the plans did not consider a transition away from fossil fuel gas.

"The applicant is encouraged to progress with a fully electric development in order to improve indoor air quality and promote health by reducing exposure to air pollutants..."

The developer is now in the process of providing responses to the 30 submissions received during the consultation period.

The writer, Jeremy Lasek, is a member of NF5.