How high is too high? Planning department's different response to two proposed CBD towers

A controversial 98-metre high apartment tower on the edge of Wollongong's CBD does not seem to concern the NSW Planning Department, despite growing discontent from nearby residents about increasing high-rise in the city. Login or signup to continue reading In stage two of the Keira Place development on the old Smith Street gasworks site, developer Urban Property Group wants to build three towers which would stand at 12, 25 and 30 storeys. The planning department has expressed concerns about the height of the developer's other Wollongong project - a 38-storey tower on Flinders Street - but did not call out the same issues for the 30-storey tower in Smith Street. At present, the Local Environmental Plan imposes a building height limit of 24 metres on the site - about eight storeys. As part of a development application lodged with the NSW planning department, the developer wants to change that limit to 103.7 metres. The tower height and limited off-street parking have been among the reasons Wollongong City Council and residents have objected to the proposal. It also sparked the formation of a protest group Wrong For The Gong, which includes CBD residents who rallied near the site to raise concerns over building height, transport and other infrastructure. In response to claims made by the group, Planning Minister Paul Scully has said that just because a developer asked to build a tall tower didn't mean it was automatically approved. "You can put forward a proposal, it goes through a full merit assessment, including a period of public exhibition, every comment that's provided with that is taken into consideration," Mr Scully said. The planning department has requested further information on the height of one of the Smith Street buildings - the smallest at 12 storeys. The department noted a change in the upper levels which "now extend further to the east and obscure more of Mt Kembla". The developer is required to increase the setback "to minimise the perceived bulk and scale of the development and reduce view loss". The department was unhappy with parking situation, requiring a breakdown of the allocation by user group. The developer also needed to identify additional parking demand management measures and "assess the potential for parking demand overspill into surrounding streets and identify appropriate monitoring, management and mitigation measures". More information was also requested about a proposed pedestrian connection between the 12-storey building and the Throsby Drive overpass. I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.