Leichhardt Council website-
Wednesday 13 May, 2015
Last night Leichhardt Council unanimously voted to support a development limited to 6 and 8 storeys on the former Balmain Leagues Club site, as long as the prospective developer intends to include new premises for the Leagues Club.
Mayor of Leichhardt Councillor Rochelle Porteous said that Councillors at last night’s Policy meeting of Council heard from independent consultants, who have investigated a range of models for the development of the site.
“The option adopted by Council is commercially viable, sensitive to the local context and a solution to traffic woes that have plagued previous development applications,” she said.
“We have signalled that any density of development beyond the current zoning on the site will need to include the Balmain Leagues Club as a tenant.”
“The independent consultants were instructed to achieve a commercially viable development that included the club, acknowledged and respected the local context and would not trigger the sort of traffic problems that led to previous applications being rejected by both the independent Joint Regional Planning Panel and the NSW State Planning Assessment Commission,” said Cr Porteous.
The option adopted by council includes:
• A leagues club at 2033 m2, noting that a further 1000 m2 is available for commercial uses such as a gym or childcare
• Retail area of 870 m2 with a wide range of uses that could include a small supermarket to service the needs of new and existing residents
• A residential component of 116 units
• On site car parking of up to 329 spaces
The retail area and car parking in particular has been designed so as not to trigger traffic problems in the surrounding streets and on the transport artery of Victoria Road.
These controls would allow this development to go ahead and will be supported by Council as long as the Balmain Leagues Club is included as a tenant by any prospective developers.
If not, Council will move to rezone the site to conform with the surrounding business district zoning of 1.5:1.
“Council will now begin consultation with the NSW Department of Planning, the owner of the site, the Balmain Leagues Club and the local community, before considering a formal planning proposal for the site,” said Cr Porteous.
“These plans will go through a comprehensive consultation with the community and require approval from both Council and the Department of Planning before they can be adopted,” said Cr Porteous.
