Pathways Cremorne Seniors Housing

I strongly object to the project. I live on the same streets, Gerard Street and Parraween Street. Both streets have already been very crowded with many residential units built in the past 10 years. With all the parking spots allocated on both streets, pedestrians have been left no streets to walk on. Crossing has become very dangerous, especially on Parraween Street given there are no official traffic lights. There are many elderly living in this neighbourhood, and they enjoy coming to Hayden Orpheum to watch movies. If there are more cars coming to the area, the street is simply too narrow to accommodate the traffic.
I have not made any political donations in the past 2 years.
I accept the Department's disclaimer and declaration.

We received your recent letter in the mail, attached with the notice of exhibition. Please find attached our response.

I am writing with regards to the above mentioned application to develop a seniors residence between 88 Parraween Street and 59-67 Gerard Street, Cremorne.

I have visited the website mentioned in the recent letter sent to neighbours in the surrounding area (attached); which I am one; but I unable not see where I could submit my concerns relating to the application and proposed development.

I live on Gerard Street (on the opposite side to the proposed development site) and am concerned about:

* the current traffic levels on both Gerard Street, Parraween Street and Military road which are currently at capacity; particularly in peak hour. A large school is down the street and many parents already clogging the streets to drop off and pick up their children from school. The development plan shows no plans to improve the traffic situation. Without improvements any additional traffic directed onto these streets will further hinder property owners to access and exit our properties. On very warm days the surrounding streets are jammed with traffic with people from all over the city trying to make their way to Balmoral or Manly beach. There have been many occasions where I have been unable to drive my car at all as traffic is at a standstill. As a resident this is very frustrating but I also see it as a huge issue as the Seniors Housing will add more traffic and should an emergency occur, make it difficult for emergency services to respond as cars would be unable to access the area. Add delivery trucks, staff vehicles and the arrival of guests and visitors to the facility and the traffic will become even worse and the current residents and neighbours of the proposed site deserve to be able to move around with ease and in safety.

*Parraween Street is a quiet street. The cottages there are unique and add to the suburb's character; removing them takes away that character and the quiet feel. These houses along with the Orpheum Theatre is what gives Cremorne its charm. Take this away and we lose that charm.

*One of my biggest concerns for me is how this will hinder me accessing my property. Already I am unable during peak times to turn right from Gerard Street into Ada Street to access my apartment block. The only alternative way to access my property coming from Ourimbah road is to continue to go straight at the fork in the road into Macpherson Street, then turn right into Parraween (drive past the proposed site - which is already jammed with go slow obstacles) to the end of the road, turn right into Winnie Street, drive across Gerard Street to take a right into Gerard Lane. There is no right hand turn at Ada Street or Winnie Street. The only right turn along that stretch of road is further down at Young Street (which is a long way out of my way to turn right. If you put more traffic on Parraween it will force more traffic to turn right down Young Street and create a bigger issue in high traffic times as it will block traffic.

I am highly against the development of such a facility as per my comments above would ask that these comments be passed on as feedback to the appropriate people.

I am writing to express my strong objection to the proposed development of an aged care facility at Parraween Street, Cremorne, that would result in the destruction of residential housing in the community. While I understand the importance of providing adequate care and facilities for our ageing population, I believe that this particular project has significant negative consequences for the neighbourhood and its residents. The area has undergone a number of developments in recent years and another major construction would cause considerable disruption to the area and the community. The traffic in the street is already heavily congested at certain times of the day and the construction and consequent large facility will only contribute to this significantly. Importantly, the construction will force the current residents to move from the area significantly impacting their lives.

I am 100% opposed to this proposed development because of the huge impacts it will have on our whole community.
Some of these being: Current community vision, the height of 4 storeys let alone 8, traffic and parking (It’s already a death sentence trying to get out of the driveways. It’s insane that this whole proposal has got this far without any consideration of what Parraween Street has currently and what it means to the community. Parraween Street is already overloaded; it has a day care centre, one large plaza with many businesses open day and night, one smaller plaza, several furniture shops that have large trucks delivering, a bottle shop with trucks delivering, a trucking company, a pub, a cinema that brings many patrons and who regularly have red carpet events and many more.

1. The proposal concept is contrary to the North Sydney Council and community vision of Parraween Street as the "heart" of Cremorne. There are many initiatives being undertaken to achieve this vision (plaza renewals, IHOs for the cottages, rezoning, street traffic management and enhanced carparks) and these will effectively be negated/negatively impacted by the proposal.
2. The proposal seeks to achieve maximum bulk (4 storeys) for the site and any of the options would be inappropriate and disastrous for the community, business, and current residents.
As for a proposal for an 8 storey ILU – which is contrary to existing, let alone proposed future zoning, is totally not acceptable.
3. The local traffic flow is huge and will only get worse. There is already major congestion on Winnie and MacPherson Sts and Parraween St has enough traffic filtering through now. The additional 115+ cars, the extra visitors and service deliveries to the RMC will only exacerbate these traffic problems.
4. Likewise the proposal will add to the considerable parking problems in Parraween St.
5. The dismantling and reconstruction of the 9 cottages subject to IHOs does not maintain the heritage - at best they will be a token facade.
6. Having a single driveway entrance for 134 vehicles and the many service trucks and ambulance deliveries will cause that driveway to be a major bottleneck in Parraween St and be dangerous due to its proximity to the Cremorne Plaza.
7. The projected 18 month construction program is totally unrealistic. 3-4 years is a far more realistic estimate based on recent development experience of much smaller sites. As if we need more traffic, parking issues, noise, dust and inconvenience for so many in our community.
Regards
Frankie Fielder

The height creates an unacceptable profile for the area and for the project planned - aged care residents need gardens and space, not high rise. Also, the traffic conditions are already chaotic, and this project will only exacerbate already high levels of noise, pollution and congestion.

Please see the attachment from The Cremorne Conservation Group

The development contravenes height restrictions, will have an adverse impact on already congested roads and will help to demonise the village atmosphere of Cremorne. The impact must be considered in light of already approved developments at the Woolworths site in Rangers Rd, Holt Road development and the present Coles owned site occupied by Woolworths.

I believe the scale of this project in not appropriate to the area and will cause traffic chaos during construction and once it is completed

Please see attached letter.

I wish to register my objection to the Pathways Cremorne Seniors Housing project in Parraween Street, Cremorne for the following reasons:

1.The development does not/will not preserve the cottages with heritage significance. The proposal to dismantle and rebuild a significant number of the cottages is not supported as such a proposition is unworkable and will permanently destroy the character and historic image of Parraween Street.
2. Excessive height, bulk and scale of the building on Gerard Street. The height of this building should be reduced to be consistent with the LEP maximum building height.
3. The through-site link will encourage pedestrians to attempt to cross Gerard Street at a place where there is no crossing and where crossing will be unsafe.
4. The proposed development will create an unacceptable impact on traffic density on Macpherson - Parraween - Winnie Streets to cater for future significant increases in medical, logistic and domestic usage.

I oppose this proposed development because of the impacts it will have on our community -

1. The proposal concept is contrary to the North Sydney Council and community vision of Parraween Street as the "heart" of Cremorne. There are many initiatives being undertaken to achieve this vision (plaza renewals, IHOs for the cottages, rezoning, street traffic management and enhanced carparks) and these will effectively be negated/negatively impacted by the proposal.

2. The proposal seeks to achieve maximum bulk (4 storeys) for the site and any of the options would be inappropriate due to its adjacency to the Cremorne Town Centre. In particular the proposal for an 8 storey ILU is contrary to existing let alone proposed future zoning. Just because poor planning allowed such inappropriate development in the past doesn't mean it should be acceptable now.

3. The local traffic flow is huge and will only get worse with the cancellation of the Northern Beaches Tunnel. The paucity of crossings of Military Rd has led to major congestion of Winnie and MacPherson Sts and Parraween St to become a "rat run". The additional 115+ cars, the extra visitors and service deliveries to the RMC will only exacerbate these traffic problems.

4. Likewise the proposal will add to the considerable parking problems in Parraween St.

5. The dismantling and reconstruction of the 9 cottages subject to IHOs does not maintain the heritage - at best they will be a token facade.

6. Having a single driveway entrance for 134 vehicles and the many service truck and ambulance deliveries will cause that driveway to be a major bottleneck in Parraween St and be dangerous due to its proximity to the Cremorne Plaza.

7. The projected 18 month construction program is totally unrealistic. 3-4 years is a far more realistic estimate based on recent development experience of much smaller sites. Additionally the projected truck scheduling will have a far greater impact on the Parraween St (closures, blockages etc). And is it appropriate to create this dysfunction (traffic, parking, noise, dust, inconvenience) adjacent to the Town Centre and its businesses for such a protracted period.
Thanking you

I oppose this development for the following reasons -
1. Loss of heritage cottages in Parraween Street
2. The height and bulk of the proposed development exceeds the allowable building height as per the current North Sydney LEP 2013.
3. Impact of extra traffic on Parraween Street which is a narrow street with high pedestrian foot traffic and speed limit of 40km/hr.
4. The lack of a cumulative traffic impact assessment in light of current traffic congestion on Parraween and Winnie streets and parking requirements for residents, businesses (e.g. restaurants and cinema).

I object to the project in the form submitted in the DA for the following reasons:
1. The building height of 8 levels of the Independent Living Unit (ILU) apartments fronting Gerard St is substantially in excess of the 4 levels permitted under the existing planning controls and the current zoning. The maximum height limit under the North Sydney LEP is 12m. Building 4 exceeds the maximum height limit by 16.7m (139%). Buildings 1, 2 & 3 also exceed the 12m height limit. Pathways Northbridge Residential Aged Care Facility is a stand alone facility and did not require a large number of ILUs for the project to be feasible. The ILU apartments appear to be just private residential apartments. Accordingly the DA could be viewed as two separate DAs; a Residential Apartment Development and an adjoining Residential Aged Care Facility with a shared underground car park.
2. The 41 bed aged care facility, seems very small compared to the total size of the development. If this Parraween St Cremorne site is a good location for such a facility, the site area should be used to increase the number of aged care beds in the development. A reduction in the number of ILUs and an increase in the RAC beds would deliver a better balanced project that gave priority to the aged care facility.
3. A 1 x 4 bedroom ILU is proposed for the 8 storey-building. This would appear to be a luxury 4 bedroom penthouse apartment. I question the need for such a luxury apartment within a RACF development.
4. Whilst the DA allows for the demolition and retention of 7 heritage cottages fronting Parraween St, 5 of the heritage cottages are going to be demolished. I support the Planning Proposal PP 3/23 to amend the North Sydney LEP 2013 to list as local heritage items, the properties 50, 52, 54,56, 70 72, 78, 80 82, 84, 86 & 88 in Parraween St.

I strongly oppose the proposal put to the State Government Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) for the above development on the following grounds –
The destruction/obscuring of so many mature trees that are so visible to pedestrians and adjacent residents, and which are so important to the character of the streetscape.
The inaccurate claim that the development would increase kerb parking in Parraween Street.
It exceeds the planning limits and zoning for the site as well as, I understand, the
regulations for height of such seniors accommodation.
The height, bulk and scale of the proposed development – especially the 8-storey building
proposed for Gerard Street is a massive over development of a key site adjacent to the Cremorne Town Centre.
The loss of heritage resulting from the dismantling and partial reconstruction of some (not all) of the heritage cottages that North Sydney Council, in conjunction with the community, are seeking to permanently protect.
The absence of a cumulative traffic impact assessment which, I believe, would demonstrate the inability of Parraween Street (in conjunction with MacPherson and Winnie Streets) to cope with the increased traffic flow this development would bring.
The negative impact of staff parking and visitors parking for both the Independent Living
Units (ILUs) and RTCs.

I strongly oppose the proposal put to the State Government Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) for the above development on the following grounds –
1. It blatantly exceeds the planning limits and zoning for the site as well as, I understand, the regulations for height of such seniors accommodation.
2. The height, bulk and scale of the proposed development – especially the 8-storey building proposed for Gerard Street – is a maximum exploitation of the site and is a massive over development of a key site adjacent to the Cremorne Town Centre.
3. The absence of a cumulative traffic impact assessment which, I believe, would demonstrate the inability of Parraween Street (in conjunction with MacPherson and Winnie Streets) to cope with the increased traffic flow this development would bring.
4. The deleterious impact of a single drive access for 134 cars (both ingress and egress) to Parraween Street.
5. The destruction/obscuring of so many mature trees that are so visible to pedestrians and adjacent residents, and which are so important to the character of the streetscape.


In my opinion this project is too large for the location proposed. It will have major disruptions to the local community because of its size. In addition it fails to height limits for builds in this part of the suburb and the proposed building destroys the valuable heritage buildings that exist at this site. the latter being considered for heritage conservation currently.

Refer Attachment

I oppose this proposed development because of the impacts it will have on our community -

1. The proposal concept is contrary to the North Sydney Council and community vision of Parraween Street as the "heart" of Cremorne. There are many initiatives being undertaken to achieve this vision (plaza renewals, IHOs for the cottages, rezoning, street traffic management and enhanced carparks) and these will effectively be negated/negatively impacted by the proposal.

2. The proposal seeks to achieve maximum bulk (4 storeys) for the site and any of the options would be inappropriate due to its adjacency to the Cremorne Town Centre. In particular the proposal for an 8 storey ILU is contrary to existing let alone proposed future zoning. Just because poor planning allowed such inappropriate development in the past doesn't mean it should be acceptable now.

3. The local traffic flow is huge and will only get worse with the cancellation of the Northern Beaches Tunnel. The paucity of crossings of Military Rd has led to major congestion of Winnie and MacPherson Sts and Parraween St to become a "rat run". The additional 115+ cars, the extra visitors and service deliveries to the RMC will only exacerbate these traffic problems.

4. Likewise the proposal will add to the considerable parking problems in Parraween St.

5. The dismantling and reconstruction of the 9 cottages subject to IHOs does not maintain the heritage - at best they will be a token facade.

6. Having a single driveway entrance for 134 vehicles and the many service truck and ambulance deliveries will cause that driveway to be a major bottleneck in Parraween St and be dangerous due to its proximity to the Cremorne Plaza.

7. The projected 18 month construction program is totally unrealistic. 3-4 years is a far more realistic estimate based on recent development experience of much smaller sites. Additionally the projected truck scheduling will have a far greater impact on the Parraween St (closures, blockages etc). And is it appropriate to create this dysfunction (traffic, parking, noise, dust, inconvenience) adjacent to the Town Centre and its businesses for such a protracted period.

I object to the project of ' pathways senior housing' in Parraween st Cremorne.
I do not believe this is a project that should be considered in a street that is currently full of period houses , these should be retained for heritage purposes.
Once removed , and replaced with the proposed building, history will be lost .
One of the charming residential areas that backs on to the lovely Cremorne Orpheum will be lost .
North Sydney Council has been responsible for allowing many projects to go ahead that involve demolishing period homes , eg Rodborough st North sydney , and I dont believe this project should proceed .
I do believe Senior homes are important but surely they can be built in areas where heritage buildings are not affected .
I live nearby and frequent the areas cafes , reatuarants and cineama anlways feel joyous about teh community street scape parraween st offers,plus I have several friends and clients who reside in close proximity to this proposed project and they are very unhappy about the idea of the area changing , to see much of a street scape lost to a modern building is not to anyones taste.
Residental homes in the Cremorne area are already in short supply and to lose so many at one time will be a major disadvantage for the current residents of the area.
this stret of house accommodates residents who live and work in the area, who can shop and travel esaily with everything on their door step .
Elderly residents do not need access to public transport, shopping accessiblity and other services that are currently in the vicinity - They are housed in seniors housing due to their lack of mobility , and this kind of housing could be positioned anywhere. Outside Services are not nearly so important to them as to the current residents in Parraween st.
I also object to the sheer size and scale of the propsed building .

Signed ; Concerned local
I urge the assessors of this proposal to consider not just the need for senior housing , but to consider history that will be lost .