Sensational-Adelaide.com

rogue wrote:That's a different site. New Mayfield is directly opposite on Sturt St.

CBD residents fight high-rise plan

by: Chloe Kennedy, City Messenger


A GROUP of south-west city residents are rallying together against plans to allow buildings up to 14 storeys to be developed in their streets.

The residents have started a campaign against the State Government's planning changes for their part of the city, which they say will lead to a "gross over-development of the area".

They say high-rise buildings - in the corner of the city bordered by Sturt St, West Tce, South Tce and King William Rd - will destroy the character and sense of community in the area.

About 60 residents gathered at a community meeting last week in support of the campaign, which would be driven by 12 residents.

South-west city resident Julie Jordan, who initiated the meeting, said she hoped the campaign would have some influence over the State Government and City Council's plans.

Mrs Jordan said the group would meet this week to discuss plans for a rally to highlight residents' concerns.

Most of the city's south-west now falls under the Main Street Zone, which will allow up to six-storey developments.

The State Government has already approved plans for a $200 million development on the former Mayfield site, Sturt St, which would involve three towers up to 14 storeys and 500 carparks.

Since the Mayfield site exceeds 1500sq m, it is considered a "catalyst site" and does not have a set height limit.

SRW wrote:The cynic might suggest that the Government's flurry of pro-development activity in the city centre might owe something to it no longer having to protect votes for Jane Lomax-Smith. Of course, I prefer to take the view that they've actually just recognised the good sense in all these initiatives. Either way, Adelaide is changing for the better

dsriggs wrote:

SRW wrote:The cynic might suggest that the Government's flurry of pro-development activity in the city centre might owe something to it no longer having to protect votes for Jane Lomax-Smith. Of course, I prefer to take the view that they've actually just recognised the good sense in all these initiatives. Either way, Adelaide is changing for the better

Surely if they wanted to protect Lomax-Smith's votes they wouldn't do anything at all!

SRW wrote:

dsriggs wrote:

SRW wrote:The cynic might suggest that the Government's flurry of pro-development activity in the city centre might owe something to it no longer having to protect votes for Jane Lomax-Smith. Of course, I prefer to take the view that they've actually just recognised the good sense in all these initiatives. Either way, Adelaide is changing for the better

Surely if they wanted to protect Lomax-Smith's votes they wouldn't do anything at all!

That was my point...

The SW corner – fondly known locally as the “Beirut Quarter” owing to its mix of old worker’s cottages and welfare housing – is singled out in the DPA’s aim to raise the city’s population to 48,000.

However, the leafy, well-heeled South East corner – otherwise known as the “Paris Quarter” – hasn’t been hit as hard in the DPA, giving rise to suspicions that the government was ducking for cover in that direction.

Friday, 17 August 2012
Protest gathers as design chief defends city changes
Melissa Mack

As community groups gather to protest a 14-storey development planned for the city’s south-west, Government Architect Ben Hewett has defended the project and called for Adelaide to embrace a wider view of its character.

Hewett, announced by Premier Jay Weatherill this week as the head of a new of a new Office for Design and Architecture, told Indaily that Adelaide had not changed in a major way for a long time – and changes to come might therefore seem more dramatic.

City residents will tomorrow rally at Whitmore Square against the Capital City Development Plan Amendment, under which the 14-storey New Mayfield development planned for Sturt St was approved.

South-West City Residents Association spokesperson Julie Jordan said the DPA was the “most retrograde planning policy in years” which allowed the fast-tracking of high-rise development without right of appeal.

“There has been a lack of consultation and lack of believing that there isn’t just a clean slate and that community doesn’t exist and that ordinary people don’t have views about what makes up a good community,” Jordan said.

Jordan said there had been a huge response to the association’s campaign against the DPA since consultation ended in July, with the group planning to stand for local and state parliament to further its cause.

“We realise this is a politicised issue and we need a political response, so we will head to the next council elections and the state election in 2014,” she said. “We will not go away.”

At the rally, the group will leave “chairs of dishonour” free for Planning Minister John Rau, who is overseas, and Premier Jay Weatherill who will not attend, but it will hear from Adelaide’s Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood, state MP for Adelaide Rachel Sanderson and Opposition planning spokesperson David Ridgway.

Ben Hewett said Adelaide must embrace its character and heritage, but not be limited by its past.

“When I talk about existing character, I’m talking about reinforcing existing character but not being limited to what was there before,” he said.

“Character is not just way it looks, but the way it works.”

Hewett said while the Mayfield development was 14-storeys, it was well-designed with stepped back podiums to minimise over-shadowing of surrounding buildings.

He convenes the design panel which, under the new DPA, must examine the design of major city projects as part of the pre-approval process.

“When we are talking about the scale of the surroundings and future character of the area in context with other buildings, the [New Mayfield] podiums are stepped back from the streetscape which allows the sun to move between them,” Hewett said.

“It is designed to make shadows move quite quickly so they will have sun during the most of the day and that’s all the stuff that good architects and designers think about.

“We’ve sat down with the developer and looked at all that and it is something that the design review panel can understand and prove.”

SWCRA’s Jordan disagreed that it suited the character of the area, inviting Hewett out of his “ivory tower” to visit.

“How anyone can believe that 14-storey glass and steel towers can be complementary next to bluestone cottages in the area, that just gobsmacks me,” Jordan said.

Hewett said people were not used to big changes in the Adelaide city.

“When you have a city that hasn’t changed very much in a long time, when you do see change then it might be seen as a bit more dramatic,” he said.

“This happens all over the world and we have to make sure that we do that in the best possible way and we do it by choice, not chance, so it doesn’t happen accidentally and each building is built with high quality design and does work within its context, but also to a future context.”