Bayside Council will look at new options for redevelopment of its car park at The Boulevarde,Brighton-Le-Sands.
This follows the rejection of a planning proposal for the site by the Local Planning Panel and the council.
A motion put forward by deputy mayor James Macdonald and Councillor Andrew Tsounis at the July 14 Bayside Council meeting called for council staff to look at options to maximise the potential for the redevelopment of the council-owned car park
This would not only address the shortfall in public car spaces in the area but also "identify innovative opportunities to integrate positive community and/or commercial outcomes on the site" to improve its overall long-term feasibility.
"Council has for many years been considering the best way forward with regard to the council-owned car park located on The Boulevarde, Brighton-Le-Sands," according to the statement supporting the councillors' motion.
"The primary objective for Council has been to address the shortfall in public car parking spaces within the Brighton-Le-Sands core area.
"The most recent draft planning proposal for the site was not supported by the Local Planning Panel or subsequently by Council on the basis that what was being proposed lacked both strategic and site-specific merit.
"This now leaves Council with the need to revisit the options for the site and look at how we can deliver the best outcome for our community."
Any future option should not only "deliver parking benefits, but also accommodate other community and social benefits which maximise the potential and location of this strategic asset.
"We propose the investigations consider the feasibility of the redevelopment of the council-owned site, as well as the potential for expanding under and/or above the adjoining roadways and public access way."
In 2018 Bayside Council received an unsolicited proposal to redevelop the car park as a high-rise tower with up to 280 apartments.
The proposal from The Boulevarde Brighton Pty Ltd was to redevelop the council's car park at The Boulevarde in conjunction with several adjoining sites.
The proponent put forward two options; the first a tower of 17 storeys and with 260 to 280 apartments and the second with a tower of up to 23 storeys.
The former Rockdale Council commissioned a Brighton-Le-Sands Car Parking Strategy in 2014 which found a shortfall of 211 car parking spaces in the town centre and identified the council car park as an asset that could be upgraded to solve the parking shortage.
The 2186 square-metre car park at The Boulevarde has 250 car parking spaces.
After calling for Expressions of Interest for a parking solution the council received nine submissions but none were deemed suitable.
