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Bayswater: proposed King William St apartment development approved by JDAP

Kristie LimEastern Reporter

THE Metro Central Joint Development Assessment Panel (JDAP) has approved the amended six-storey Heir apartments on King William Street despite concerns raised about the “imposing” figure and removal of proposed restaurants.

At its meeting today, the JDAP supported the City of Bayswater officers’ recommendation to approve Yolk Property Group’s $7 million mixed use development comprising two shops and 27 apartments 4-1, with Bayswater Deputy Mayor Chris Cornish voting against.

Panel member and Bayswater councillor Catherine Ehrhardt’s amendment to approve a 18-month extension of approval instead of one year was passed as a compromise between officers and the developer’s requests.

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Conditions include stores being separated by walls, each dwelling to be provided with an outdoor living area of minimum 2.4m internal width and 10sq m internal area and a cash-in-lieu payment of $60,000 to the City for the shortfall of six car bays.

This was the fourth proposal to be considered by the panel after the third proposal was rejected in September.

With 12 deputations for and three against being presented by community groups, Mayor Dan Bull, Harris Architects’ Jonathon Harris, Moharich and More’s Belinda Moharich and other residents, the panel considered points raised for and against the proposal.

Cr Bull, who spoke against, said the council considered the proposal on planning grounds and the proposal was not compliant under Town Planning Scheme No.24 and Special Control Area (SCA) 12, which stated developments could not exceed five storeys and the maximum height of 20m.

Bayswater Deserves Better chair Keith Clements said the developers should have “stuck to the rules” with five storeys instead of trying to “squeeze the dollar” out of the building.

“There is not a lot of change but we have had a nod to our heritage,” he said.

“It is still imposing, not to human scale and not harmonious to the community.”

Bayswater Pharmacy 777 owner Greg Da Rui, who spoke on behalf of Future Bayswater chair Paul Shanahan, said the development was an “important first step” in providing housing diversity in the form of extra height and apartments.

“Without any design guidelines for this precinct, it is impossible for developers to know exactly what the ‘character’ of the area is… this concern is fundamentally about taste,” he said.

“Our group really like the design of this building and would heartily welcome it into our community.”

Fellow member Linda Slater said the quality integration of “the old and the new” established clear prerequisites for future developments in the town centre.

Deputy presiding member Sheryl Chaffer said issues with design requirements and access ramp widths had been addressed.

Specialist member Michael Hardy said the draft Bayswater Town Centre Structure Plan, currently on hold pending the State Government’s plans for the train station, had “little weight” in the panel’s decision.

Cr Cornish said the design was “superior” to the 2017 proposal but it was still non-compliant to SCA 12’s limit of five storeys and he could not see how the panel could exercise the discretion of the proposal.

Yolk Property Group director Pete Adams, told the Reporter after the meeting, that it was a “good result” for the people of Bayswater.

“We have just got to basically get it built now but we are not too sure of who it is going to be,” he said.

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