This meeting despite the size of the documentation finished at around 8.06pm.
Issues of debate centred around two items;
- The proposed 11 room boarding house and its suitability for the area. Most Councillors were against the proposal, reasons varied, but generally it came down to insufficient parking spaces available (2 allocated). Other reasons included not knowing who those proposed short term tenants may be and the lack of an onsite manager. Unfortunately there may be reasons not able to be disclosed publically which could have caused concern in the community. Suffice to say that the majority of Councillors rejected the Development Application (DA). However, if the applicant chooses to pursue the initial DA, that can be done via an appeal to the Land and Environment Court (LEC).
- Child Care Centre (CCC) in Chipping Norton. That DA caused some 11 opposing submissions. I am not in favour of allowing CCC into older established residential areas that may cause undue impact of noise and traffic concerns to adjoining established homes.
- In this case I questioned the acoustic report which cited noise measurements that in my opinion would impact significantly on the five neighbouring properties bordering the proposed CCC.
- Unfortunately the Liverpool Local Environment Plan (LLEP of 2008) in my opinion does not address these issues effectively. Every DA application for a CCC since 2008 has had significant numbers of adjoining property owner’s objecting. Clearly there needs to be an investigation that examines the current state of the LLEP. Amendments may be needed to better reflect the needs and wants of the community and at the same time take into consideration the negative effects on adjoining property owners when retrofitting CCCs into existing neighbourhoods. The current EPA (Environment Protection Authority) noise limits may also need re-evaluating, as do the allowable locations and conditions affecting the placement of CCCs. Currently these are generally only recommendations and not enforceable, where in fact they should be.
- For several decades significant changes to our social structure have resulted in both parents working. It is therefore desirable that CCCs are established in existing housing areas as young families move into them. However, at the same time they need to be located to minimise the impact on adjoining residents. Often that is a secondary consideration and results in significant detrimental effects to neighbours. In some instances long term home owners are forced to move from a home that they have lived in for many years, simply because our LLEP allows the negative impact! That to me is totally unfair and needs to be addressed in our LLEP, not just the Local Development Control Plan (LDCP).
- I therefore put forward an amendment to the recommendations which is to examine the current LLEP and generate a report for the December Council Meeting. The report is to examine all aspects of CCCs on the community. That amendment was supported by all Councillors.
- In this case I questioned the acoustic report which cited noise measurements that in my opinion would impact significantly on the five neighbouring properties bordering the proposed CCC.