I object to this proposal for a massive commercial building above the
Victoria Cross Metro Station.

This rare public space created by a major public transport process
must be dedicated and saved as public space, creatively designed as a
once ever chance to provide a heart for a heartless North Sydney CBD.

I have been a resident of North Sydney Municipality for 44 years
closely involved in Council and Community Affairs, being currently a
member of the Waverton Peninsula Working Group, a joint Council and
State group.

The North Sydney CBD is a tragic case of 50 years of unplanned
haphazard development in a location seriously compromised by the
Warringah Expressway in the 1960s and by the major arterial public
transport and private thoroughfares to and from the Bridge and the
City which further impact on any sense of place.

Despite boasting the first ever modern office building in Australia,
the MLC Centre, North Sydney CBD now has entirely inadequate public
spaces, being only the three tiny disparate areas in the Mount Street
road closure (so-called Brett Whiteley Place), the space in Berry St
in front of Beau Monde and the narrow strip on Miller St in front of
the MLC. That's it!

The result is a business district that not only totally fails to
provide civic space for the thousands who work and go to school and
university here, but completely dies at night and the weekends.

The Berry Miller site is the only chance for the salvation of North
Sydney. The government of NSW has a clear and urgent obligation to the
public to make the second largest business district in the State a
place with a heart after decades of failure.

There is no need for a huge building on this site as there are very
many potential sites in North Sydney for major re-development to
permit continuing expansion of the commercial space for decades to
come.

I will not repeat the detail in the many submissions being lodged but
in particular I wish to adopt and endorse the well- reasoned
submissions of Wollstonecraft Precinct and of former long-serving
Mayor Genia McCaffery which outline the detailed planning reasons why
the scale of the proposed building, whatever setbacks may be provided,
is completely wrong for this confined site and why a creatively
designed public space is the only course for a government concerned to
protect the public interest in public assets and their proper use .

Bruce Donald AM
19/6/18

My submission relates to the Victoria Cross proposed development. My main
objection is that the proposed height (42 floors including rooftop
equipment) is significantly taller than surrounding buildings close to
my address (79-81 Berry St). At a minimum, I would be seeking some
type of privacy screening, which I understand has been agreed with the
developers of the site immediately to the south of my building
(bordering Denision, Spring and Little Spring St).

The development is too high and will overshadow the surrounding area and
public open spaces. Retail does not work in North Sydney and it is not
at all a vibrant community for anyone who lives nearby. Suggest that
retail floors be removed and reduce the size and bulk of the building.
North Sydney is overcrowded for all the M-F office workers and dead on
the weekend for everyone else.

The architectural plans look suitable. Considering the location of this
building, is there any reason why it couldn't be 50 to 60 levels
instead of just 40 levels.

I am opposing the SSD Application for the Victoria Cross Over Station
Development. Although I am a strong supporter of rail and public
transport links (as opposed to additional roads), I fail to see the
need for this level of over-development in North Sydney. I believe any
over station development should not exceed the current building
heights for North Sydney; especially given the negative impact it will
have on the heritage items nearby (in particular, the Rag & Famish
Hotel). Any over station development needs to take North Sydney's
unique character, which includes heritage items from the Victorian,
Federation and Art Deco eras, into consideration. I also oppose the
inclusion of numerous parking spaces; surely we should be encouraging
people to catch public transport, instead of drive to the new metro
station (or, even worse, the building above the metro station!)? This
is particularly important in an area that already struggles with
congestion; we should be encouraging people to use the metro, not
exacerbating the issues in surrounding streets by providing additional
parking.

I would support over station development that:
- remained consistent with current building heights in North Sydney
- did not include a parking lot
- ensured minimal impact on nearby heritage items
- was sympathetically designed to enhance the area (as opposed to an
angular monolith designed to maximise GFA & profit for developers)

The proposed development over the Sydney Metro Victoria Cross Station is
of an appropriate scale and function to take advantage of the new
station that is under construction. The significant increase in urban
development in the North Sydney CBD is fully supported. The high
quality of the proposed office developments, together with the
additional residential developments and the existing institutional
services will ensure that the strategically located North Sydney CBD
continues to make a significant contribution to the future of Sydney
as a whole.

COMMENT ON DESIGN OF VICTORIA CROSS OVER-STATION DEVELOPMENT

Submissions to the Department of Planning & Environment on the design
of the proposed over-station development at Victoria Cross Metro
Station were to close on 22 June 2018. This submission was lodged at -
http://www.majorprojects.planning.nsw.gov.au/index.pl?action=view_job&job_id=8874

I make the following points about the street-level design of the site
of the proposed Victoria Cross (North Sydney) Metro Station -

1 - The corners of the Miller Street plaza might benefit from
glass-walled "nooks" where people could sit in the winter sun for
lunch, etc, protected from the wind, and away from the preferred path
of pedestrians entering / leaving the Metro station and office tower
(page 26, Victoria Cross Community Booklet).

2 - I note the awareness of the planners for the provision of public
artworks at appropriate sites (page 26). This may be such a site.

3 - The city-wide "M,T, and B" "lollypop" logos used for identifying
public transport access points might be more useful if they were
modified to provide a stylised directional arrow. Seen from a
distance, it would assist pedestrians approaching the station
entrance. (The problem of the lack of such directional information is
currently most stark at Railway Square, where there are prominent
"lollypops", but no directional information whatever.)

4 - Information regarding the transfer or interchange stations from
Metro to the Sydney Trains network in both directions (Chatswood?,
Barangaroo?) needs to be provided as soon as possible after passengers
enter the station entrance. This would enable Metro passengers to
decide which platform to approach, before they reached the platforms
proper, reducing congestion and improving safety at the bottom of the
platform access escalators.

5 - Likewise, wallspace needs to be carefully allocated at precisely
the right places at street level for signage directing Metro
passengers exiting the station and transferring to bus services.
Careful attention to such wayfinding information is an important
element in reducing pedestrian congestion around the station entrance
/ exit. (An example of the failure of this principle is evident at
Chatswood bus interchange, where prospective bus passengers must
wander around seeking information about the bus services leaving the
bus station.)

Kevin Eadie
Partner
Transit Advocates
12.6.18.
f - MetroVicX.1

This submission is in objection to the location of the proposed tower
building and the treatment of the public open space.
This opportunity for an integrated plan for the heart of North Sydney
is being lost by lack of coherent dialogue with informed
decisionmakers and planners. The key failings are:
* No apparent recognition of the planning being undertaken to improve
the pedestrian amenity of Miller St, including its possible conversion
to pedestrian only. The "vision" so far is a few concrete seats. This
could be a space of excellence that people travel to visit - not one
they scurry through to catch the train.
* No link between Victoria Cross Station and North Sydney Station.
Despite what planners may want, travelers will use this area to
transfer between modes, and provision should be made for this.
* Transfer between the Metro and buses also needs to be integrated
* The proposed building sits forward of the building to its south,
failing the long term plans for the city
* The opportunity to incorporate the existing 50 Berry St site should
be taken to allow an integrated plan for a larger footprint. (It is
currently advertising 5000 sqm for lease, so is presumably not full
and should be tractable to purchase) This would allow the main massing
to be concentrated to the south of the site and keep a broad sweep of
public open space at ground level which connects the widened Miller St
area to the forecourt of the Beau Monde building.
* The EIS argues that heritage buildings such as the Rag and Famish
will be respected. However, Tower Square was demolished - the only
such space in North Sydney. At the very least, the new development
should provide at least an equivalent public amenity
All the above suggest tearing up the current plan, acquiring a new
building and then addressing what exciting changes are possible. Given
all the work done this is too late you might say. The answer is that
this is specifically the sort of thing that is at the very heart of
preparing and exhibiting an impact statement: To get feedback from
affected persons and to act on that feedback. At the end of the day it
is us who have to live and work here, and needless to say, we vote.
Significant change is needed to make this development fit the grand
words of the development objectives.

I would like to lodge my objection to the proposed multi-storey
commercial development proposal for Victoria Cross Station.

As a resident of [redacted], if this development were to go ahead, it
would be the third major commercial development within very close
proximity to the apartments within a short space of time, completely
consuming the residential building to the south and the west.

Residents are already having to deal with restricted ingress and
egress to their homes, increased noise levels and major impacts to
views and in turn, property values. These impacts are likely to be be
felt for several years even with the current developments underway.

Addding a second major commercial development in such close proximity,
will not only prolong the impact to local residents even further, it
will also generate significantly more traffic in the surrounding
laneways used to access our property, drastically restrict natural
light (particularly residents on the south and westerns corners) and
have a catastrophic impact on views and in turn, property
values....again.

I would also argue that North Sydney does not require another
commercial development of this scale given the challenges in leasing
the Genworth building in recent times.

I strongly object to the proposed development and would hope that
North Sydney Council shows some compassion for the residents hugely
impacted (again) by this decision.

I think this style of innovative development is the best and most
intelligent way forward for transit oriented development. The
combination of retail within the base of the building allows
activation in that part of North Sydney which otherwise is normally
pretty quiet. Furthermore the commercial building also provides
convenient access for workers within the building to use public
transport with ease. This development will surely put North Sydney on
the map in terms of its integrative and interesting design concept.