Townshend Street in Phillip. Some residential development would be welcome. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
The ban on residential development in the Phillip Service Trades Area could be overturned after businesses and property owners complained that it was stifling renewal.
An ACT Government spokesperson said Planning and Sustainable Development Minister Chris Steel had requested the City and Environment Directorate provide options for zoning changes to be considered by government and stakeholders.
This came after stakeholders showed a “strong appetite” for change at a ‘Phillip Roundtable’ in May to discuss the future of the trades area south of Hindmarsh Drive.
The new Territory Plan, introduced last September, prohibits residential developments to limit potential conflicts with existing trade uses, but Phillip property owners believe the government overreacted.
Phillip Business Community president Tom Adam said the government had failed to consult adequately with Phillip businesses, which were not opposed to residential development as long as it did not impinge on their operation or drive them out of the area.
“They came to me when they were looking at the Territory Plan changes and they said, ‘How do you feel about residential within Phillip?’ and I actually said to them, ‘I don’t care as long as you don’t reduce commercial floor space.'”
Mr Adam said 30 per cent of the commercial space was empty within the Phillip trades area so there was scope for residential development without impacting businesses.
He said there are a number of property owners who had bought buildings with the specific intention of redeveloping them and now they felt hamstrung.
It wasn’t worth redeveloping buildings within Phillip if limited to replacing them with the existing floorprint.
“They want to move towards increasing the residential density within the area that would allow for more cafes and potentially other businesses,” Mr Adam said.
Phillip Business Community president Tom Adam. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
Under the previous Territory Plan, residential use was allowed above the first-floor level. However, the government spokesperson noted that despite these DAs being assessed under the previous Territory Plan and planning system, they were still not approved.
Mr Adam said that all of Townshend Street, one building in one building deep, could be four storeys high, with apartments sitting above commercial.
The fear had been that the introduction of residential development in Phillip would repeat the experience in Braddon where residents complained about noise.
But Mr Adam said proper soundproofing of buildings as per current requirements would fix that.
He said Phillip businesses did not want high-rise residential like that on the other side of Hindmarsh Drive, but shop-top apartments, which Mr Steel champions, would be suitable.
The current zoning was not only hindering appropriate redevelopment but also discouraging investment in general, potentially leading to a terminal decline.
Mr Adam said it had been made clear to Mr Steel at the roundtable in May that until the zoning was changed, no one would do anything in the Phillip trades area.
“There will not be any improvements to anything, so basically development in Phillip is on hold,” he said.
Mr Adam also suggested at the roundtable that ground-floor commercial with residential above should be allowed along Athllon Drive to the Mawson shops, where light rail would run.
