The fight to stop a childcare centre being built at South Hurstville after it was deemed 'incompatible' with the surrounding residential area will go to the NSW Land and Environment Court this week.
A development application for demolition works and the construction of a childcare centre at 4 The Esplanade, South Hurstville, was considered by Georges River Council's Local Planning Panel (LPP) on August 15, 2019.
The application sought to demolish existing structures and a tennis court and remove trees from the site to make way for a two-storey childcare centre with basement car park to provide care for 68 children and parking for 18 vehicles.
After the application was refused, the applicant Ekon Pty Ltd, elected to appeal the decision in the Land and Environment Court of NSW .
The hearing is set down to take place today and tomorrow (May 24-25).
According to the LPP minutes, an inspection was carried out at the site and nearby locality by panel members who voted unanimously to refuse the application.
The panel found the site was not suitable for the proposed development and would have an adverse impact.
"The proposed siting and design of the outdoor play structure and acoustic fence results in unnecessary visual bulk and scale, which results in an adverse impact to the built environment," the panel said.
"Additionally, inadequate setback and screen landscaping is proposed adjacent to the acoustic fence.
"The design and sitting of the proposal results in a built form which is incompatible with the immediate surrounding residential context.
"The proposal results in adverse built environment and social impacts and is therefore not considered to be in the public interest."
Carol Chilcott has been fighting the development for the past four years and was among residents who attended an onsite protest this morning.
She said it was "beyond belief" that the original submission had been resubmitted again, with only small modifications.
Ms Chilcott said The Esplanade was a quiet residential street and the proposed childcare centre did not fit the streetscape.
She described the application for "yet another child care centre" as preposterous considering there were already five close by.
"A proposed commercial development of this nature is totally unacceptable with its noise, disruption and pollution in what is essentially a residential R2 zone," she said.
She said the proposed basement car park would require extensive excavation that would seriously undermine the foundations of nearby homes.
She believes the development would also cause traffic problems.
"Cars are already parked on either side of the narrow street and have difficulty in passing each other now," she said.
She also opposed a planned acoustic fence which she said would cause shadowing along the length of the property.
Ms Chilcott described the proposed 68 childcare spaces as 'astronomical' and said the subsequent play area would be "noisy and disruptive".
She said it would ruin "the quiet peace of the neighbourhood" and cause property prices to plummet.
A Georges River Council spokeswoman said it was unable to comment as the matter was currently before the court.
