Above – David Shoebridge MLC, Ashfield Mayor Ted Cassidy and SHAG local residents concerned about the developments on 6 September 2011.  Photo by Sarah Mills for The Inner City Weekender.

What’s proposed for Summer Hill?

Plans are continuing for the development of two former industrial sites in Summer Hill (Mungo Scott Flour Mills) and Lewisham (McGill Street) into high-rise, residential apartments and commercial areas. While these two sites are located right next to each other, they are being developed separately by two different developers and fall into two different local council areas (Ashfield/Marrickville). The developers bypassed local council planning processes and lodged applications with the NSW State Government under Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.  While the recently elected NSW Government have announced that they will repeal the controversial Part 3A, unfortunately these two developments will not be referred back to local council but instead will be determined through the NSW Planning Assessment Commission.

The Summer Hill Flour Mills redevelopment was on public exhibition – http://bit.ly/pV4wfd – until 12 August 2011.  Over 1,200 local residents voiced their concerns to the scale of the proposed development.

On 6 September 2011, local residents joined David Shoebridge MLC and Ashfield Mayor Ted Cassidy to voice their concerns about the developments.  For more information see http://davidshoebridge.org.au/2011/09/05/no-lewisham-towers/

Impact on Summer Hill and Lewisham communities

Based on the recent independent traffic study commissioned by Ashfield Council, local residents are concerned that the two proposed developments amount to:

• Traffic generation: 1,000 more cars per hour
• Density: 680-1,000+ residential units
• Retail: 8,500m²+ including supermarket
• Commercial: 3,800m²+
• Building height: Multiple high-rises over 10 storeys
• Population increase: 1,500 – 3,000+ people
• Public green space: Limited

For further information on these development proposals and what you can do to make sure your voice is heard, keep reading!