20 Storey Flats - SPRA response

"The Urban Development Institute has called for 20-storey flats to be permitted to be built on Dequetteville Terrace. This forms part of the Institute's submission to the Norwood, Payneham and St. Peters Council's Development Plan Amendment "The Parade and Kent Town Strategic Growth DPA". Like all inner suburban councils our Council was required to prepare this by the Minister for Planning's Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure.

All the inner suburban councils were required to release these "uplift" draft DPA's at the same time and public comment closed on 22nd of February.

Our Council's Parade and Kent Town DPA proposes multi-storey flats above shops on North Terrace Kent Town (up to 10 storeys), on The Parade (up to 7 storeys) and in Kent Town which is largely a mixed use zone at present (up to 5 storeys). Special sites have been selected for special height limits including the Coles site at Norwood (7 storeys) and the Banner Hardware site on the corner of Magill and Fullarton Roads (10 storeys).

This Development Plan Amendment and submissions made can be viewed on Council's website.
Our Association made a submission to this DPA despite most of the affected area being outside the suburbs we draw our membership from. We believe that all the residents in our Council area have a strong interest in what happens in Norwood and Kent Town.

The public hearing for this DPA is to be held on Tuesday 26th March 2013 at 7.00 pm in the Mayor's Parlour, Norwood Town Hall. We urge interested members of the public to attend.

We have not yet read the submissions to this DPA, but we have been advised by a resident who has read them that the majority of submissions came from developers.

While developers and their representatives such as the Urban Development Institute are agitating for higher height limits, there appears to be insufficient demand for this type of housing in Adelaide at present. The collapse of the 10-storey apartment project on the old Channel 7 site at Gilberton due to lack of interest from investors and others has been a slap in the face for the government and Planning Minister John Rau in particular. The Minister over-rode the Walkerville Council on the height limits for this project and has now ended up with egg on his face.