The future of the heritage-listed Creighton’s Building in Mann St Gosford will soon be back in the hands of the Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP). Amended plans were received by Central Coast Council in July from the Rola Property Group Pty Ltd.
They were placed on public exhibition (but not advertised in this newspaper) and submiclosed on August 12, but the JRPP has not yet listed a date for the determination of the amended DA. It is two years since the original development application for a mixed use development from 27A to 37 Mann St Gosford was lodged. The original DA called for the demolition of all existing buildings and structures on the land, including the Creighton’s Funeral Parlour (Gosford Heritage Item 37). It was to be replaced with a mixed use building with two levels of basement parking, ground floor retail, restaurant and car park, level one commercial and parking and, from level 2 to 15, 127 apartments and two external car spaces at level 2.
The DA was amended in September, October and December 2015. The amendments retained the Creighton’s Funeral Parlour with the exception of one wall which was to be replaced due to structural inadequacy, demolished all other existing buildings and structures and erected a 17-storey mixed use building of 17,180 square metres of gross floor area. The building would include: 134 residential units; 1060 square metres of commercial space and 503 square metres of retail floor space; 210 square metres of restaurant space and 224 car spaces.
The Joint Regional Planning Panel considered the amended DA on December 17, 2015 and decided to defer its decision to enable further amendments. The JRPP asked for the developer to address the bulk and scale of the proposed development to “appropriately minimise the impacts on the heritage item and to appropriately address view sharing impacts in relation to the nearby Broadwater Apartments in Parlour Lane”. The developer was also asked to “reduce the busyness and flamboyance of the development and provide a quieter façade treatment in order to improve design excellence outcomes”. The planning panel asked for: further consideration to be given to design criteria; an exploration of the previous mortuary position and opportunities to interpret that in the design; further investigation to identify an approach to the southern garage wall and structural suitability of the existing sandstone wall; increased landscaping; and other provisions.
In addition to the former ‘Creighton Funeral Parlour’ at 37 Mann St, the subject land is currently occupied by: a two storey offi ce building at 35 Mann St; a two storey shop and residence at 33 Mann St; a two storey offi ce building at 31 Mann St; a two storey shop and residence at 29 Mann St; a two storey shop and residence at 27 Mann Street; a cottage fronting Parlour Lane; and a dwelling house at 125 Georgiana Terrace. An Architectural Design Statement (June 22) prepared by Thrum Architects contained an overview of the amended development application which involved retention of the Creighton’s Funeral Parlour for use as a ground fl oor restaurant/ bar and the existing level one, two bed sole occupancy apartment.
All other existing buildings and structures are to be demolished and replaced by a new 19-storey (plus two basement levels) mixed use building of gross fl oor area 13,205 square metres. The latest proposal for the tower would comprise: two basement car parking levels (total 130 spaces plus car wash); ground fl oor retail and car parking (47 spaces); level one commercial and 28 car spaces; level two residential apartments; heated swimming pool; garbage store and collection and external podium; and levels three to 18 residential apartments. The development would include a total of 132 apartments (131 in new building and 1 in the retained heritage building); and 205 car spaces.
In the design process, the tower was moved eastwards by a short distance to this position in order to increase the visual separation of the new tower from the heritage building. Within the Mann St frontage, the proposed development has a maximum height above ground level of 60 metres, exceeding the 46.8m maximum permitted building height by 29 per cent at the highest point of the roof element. The proposed development complies with the maximum height requirements for its Parlour Lane frontage. The subject land is partly subject to maximum permissible fl oor space ratio development standard of 4:1 and partly 3:1 (rear of the land fronting Georgiana Terrace and Parlour Lane). However, the gross fl oor area of the proposed development is located almost entirely within the Mann Street frontage where the maximum permissible FSR of 5.2:1 applies. The FSR for the proposed development is 6.9:1 which exceeds the maximum permissible. The amended development application was accompanied by a Statement of Heritage Impact.
The statement concluded: “the significance of the Creighton building will be conserved by the proposal as it would be fully retained along with the majority of the side garage whose primary sandstone façade would be interpreted in the new design via contrasts between old and new fabrics. “Generally, the new development would stand to the rear and side of the Creighton building and would conserve its prominence and landmark status in the streetscape. “It would also merge within its existing surroundings via a front two storey section in line with the parapet style of the Creighton building. “The amended proposal offers a positive solution to conserving the cultural signifi cance of the heritage building meanwhile responding to a need to increase amenity in the town centre of an expanding Gosford.” In considering whether development exhibits design excellence, the statement of environmental effect (SEE) submitted with the latest version of the DA said: “the proposed development will result in an improvement to the visual amenity of the public domain (streetscape) by replacing the existing aged building stock with a building and landscaping of contemporary design quality and retaining the heritage item located on the corner of Mann St and Georgiana Tce”. “Other than in respect to the proposed exceedance of the maximum permitted building height and fl oor space ratio development standards, the proposed development is consistent with all applicable provisions of Gosford Local Environmental Plan 2014,” the statement of environmental effects said. In relation to view sharing, the SEE argued that the latest design “improves view sharing outcomes for the residents of Broadwater Apartments”.
The Visual Impact Statement prepared by Richard Lamb and Associates concluded: “As the site is directly west of the Broadwater Apartments and in a direction in which scenic views are possible and desirable, it is inevitable that a new building will cause some view loss. “The footprint has been cut back consistent with the location and angle of the potential view lines which were analysed from a centrally located apartment. “The cut back tower had been decreased in fl oor plate area by approximately 150 square metres. “The cut back solution along with the fl oor plate shape and location of the tower element, adopts an appropriate approach to minimising impacts of view loss, in the context of the development standards and controls that apply to the site. “Notwithstanding, view loss will occur in relation to the Broadwater Apartments. “The design approach taken and its further refi nement … including the reduction in width of the tower component as viewed from the Broadwater Apartments, have improved view sharing outcomes. “In my opinion the approach taken to minimise view loss … successfully minimises potential visual effects and impacts of the proposed development in relation to views from the Broadwater Apartments. “In this context, I consider that the proposed development can be supported on view loss grounds.”
Website, Sep 6, 2016 Gosford City DA tracker, DA46209/2014 Various documents Jackie Pearson, journalist