An artist’s impression of Stage 1 on Poppyfield Street. Image: Stewart Architecture.
The proposed Tradies redevelopment in Dickson should be scaled back to six storeys, the allowable height under the Territory Plan, according to the local residents group.
After examining the development application and participating in community information evenings in September, the Dickson Residents Group has come out against the current proposal, saying it is too big and out of character for the site.
The scale of the project would also create traffic and parking issues, potentially overwhelming the neighbouring low-rise shops.
The Tradies Club wants to build two apartment buildings, up to 13 storeys high, on Poppyfield Street.
This is Stage 1 of a decade-long precinct-scale development comprising seven buildings, delivering 645 homes, a new club, and 5000 sqm of commercial space supporting retail, dining and services.
The $94 million first stage will deliver 246 apartments and ground-floor commercial units, and require the demolition of the nursery, gym, squash courts and part of the motel.
While the building height limit is six storeys under the Territory Plan, there is also scope to go higher under the new outcomes-based planning system.
DRG acting president Gene McGlynn said the site was suitable for some sort of higher-density residential development, but the scale was inappropriate.
Mr McGlynn said there were many good elements in the proposal, but it would have visibility and privacy impacts, potentially overshadowing its neighbours.
He said the number of residents proposed would amount to about a third of the current population of Dickson, raising concerns about traffic and parking issues not just there but elsewhere in the suburb.
Even the traffic report conceded that the Poppyfield Street intersection would become more congested, Mr McGlynn said.
“That’s a major problem because that’s a pretty major thoroughfare that includes a lot of public transport,” he said.
“Once that intersection starts to have problems, it basically starts to spread out to lots of other areas through Dickson.”
The Green would eventually encompass seven buildings.
Mr McGlyn said there was already a lack of convenient parking in the area and a proposal of this magnitude would exacerbate the situation.
He did not believe residents were anti-development, given the number of apartment blocks in the area, but believed this one was not the right fit.
“What people are looking for is good quality development of the right type in the right place,” he said.
The renaturalisation treatment proposed for a section of Sullivans Creek was quite positive, but this was in the masterplan, the legal status of which was unclear.
Mr McGlynn said it may never happen, particularly given that the government had stepped back from a commitment to renaturalise the creek.
If it did go ahead, some of the works would also interfere with the cycle path.
“It’s not that it shouldn’t happen, but there needs to be some more management of some of the issues around it,” Mr McGlynn said.
Other issues canvassed in the DRG’s representation included a more defined requirement for social housing and the loss of the squash courts.
The Dickson Squash Club has launched a petition calling on the government to address the loss of indoor sports venues in north Canberra, highlighting how the Tradies’ plans will only exacerbate the situation.
It has reached the 500 signatures needed for the Legislative Assembly to refer the issue to a committee to investigate.
Club president Ben Phillips said the Tradies had been very supportive over the years, but it did not appear to want to continue the relationship.
Mr Phillips said the squash club had not been able to find an alternative venue.
He saw the loss of the current squash courts as part of an overall decline in sports venues across the north, which should be addressed by government and developers working together to provide community infrastructure.
“You’ve got to think about what sort of Canberra we want to have in the future,” Mr Phillips said.
“You want to have a lot of people living in the inner north of Canberra or wherever it is in Canberra, but will they have the facilities to make that an enjoyable, enjoyable existence and a place where you’ve got serious social capital and community interactions?”
Mr McGlynn said the squash courts were part of the existing lease, so something that was required by the government on the site.
“It’s not just a matter of, ‘Oh well, it’s just a commercial decision’, it’s actually a reversal of kind of a government mandate,” he said.
The DRG believed the government and/or the Tradies should help the squash club find new facilities in the area.
The period for making representations closes today.
