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Inner West residents get ready to fight the Highrise Tsunami

Announcement posted by DTConsutling 06 May 2014

Locals prepare for a May 12 deadline to protect Croydon's rich heritage

Fed up with the flood of highrise buildings literally being ‘thown up’ at speed in Ashfield, Burwood and now Croydon, local residents are getting organized to fight back and protect the deep heritage of the area from impending bulldozers, greedy developers and a seemingly ambivalent council.

In time for the May 12 deadline, local residents in Croydon are campaigning for support to stop Development Proposal BD 2014.53, an 8 storey, 40 unit building at 22-24 Grosvenor Street. Details and an online petition can be found here: http://www.22-24grosvenorstreet.com/

The development is being proposed for a plot that currently houses just 2 domestic properties and is situated in a narrow one way street in Croydon. What’s getting the locals fired up is that this is the second proposal for this plot in just a few months.

The residents joined forces to object to a similar 8 storey development in October 2013, and are now angry and bewildered that an almost identical development at the same address has been put forward, not addressing any concerns raised previously.

NSW local governments have a history of caving in to developers and Croydon locals are looking to their councilors to help fight for the local identity of the area and put a stop to high density housing in a historically significant hertiage suburb.

Nathaniel Taylor, resident of Croydon for over 30 years is astounded at this new plan;

“I acknowledge that this area is zoned for medium density housing, but to propose an eight storey highrise development on the boundary to a low density zone is objectionable”.

Mr Taylor went on to explain,

“Apart from the parking concerns and the obvious addition to the traffic congestion we currently experience, there is also a very serious concern about accidents occurring, with the entrance to the proposed car park intersecting the corners of Webb, Grosvenor Streets and Albert Crescent.

I am not sure the Council traffic management team are fully aware that Grosvenor Street and Albert Crescent are used as a by-pass link to and from Burwood. There is a constant stream of traffic along these streets with many cars failing to slow down, let alone stop at that intersection.”

The residents’ group have come together to discuss their objections, post flyers, create a website and meet with locals at the train station and The Strand to build awareness and gain support for the action. Commenting on the group’s blog, one local resident expressed his frustration:

“Croydon has a charm and uniqueness which was the reason why we bought our home in Young St, Croydon 4 years ago. To change the landscape from heritage/period homes to highrise buildings will devalue the aesthetics of the suburb and the valuations of properties of existing home owners . The highrise buildings recently erected in burwood along the railway are an architectural discrace, and a blight on our local landscape. We do not want a repeat in our little oasis of heritage in Croydon.”

Objections can be summarized as follows:

·         Croydon Strand is heritage listed, and there is nothing in the street that is 8 storeys high. The new development will be completely out of place, destroying the character of the surrounding area.

·         The height of the development will overshadow the surrounding buildings allowing very little light into backyards and no privacy.

·         Similar buildings in Burwood and Ashfield to date have already dampened property values and the local suburban atmosphere.

·         The pressure on the infrastructure of an additional 40 units will be enormous, where currently there is no on-street parking on a one way street with a dangerous intersection to negotiate.

·         This corner is already impossible to navigate in the mornings and afternoons, where children from the PLC, Croydon Public Schools and Burwood GHS, increase the number of young pedestrians in the area, significantly increasing the risk for an incident. Local parents are already concerned that not enough is being done to address this issue, without the added impact of this new development.

The residents in the area also feel that the rash of developments in Ashfield, Burwood and Croydon are giving out all the wrong messages to developers who obviously see the area as easy pickings where profit before people is the norm with no regard for thoughtful and intelligent design that improves the lives of local residents.