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Current Developments Archive |
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University Motel, 25 Arundel
Street
Yet another Glebe motel has put in yet
another application for reincarnation. In
this case I think it may be the fourth. This
one has more merit than most of the
others, partly because it involves total
demolition, a fate devoutly to be wished
on the other motels as well. The University
Motor Inn, however, probably wins
the ugliness stakes hands down, being
kitsch as well as grotesque.
In its place the developer proposes a large
boarding house for students, taking
advantage of its site opposite Sydney
University.
A bit too large, actually, with
two hundred rooms, as opposed to the
current forty-six, and a floor space ratio of
2.289:1, as opposed to the present 0.89:1,which is already above the current Glebe
limit of 0.7:1. The height also exceeds the
control for the Bishopthorpe precinct, and
only 22 car parking spaces and 96 bike
places are provided. The Society is
asking for the size and scale to be reduced,
but supports the use.
Jubilee Fountain, 281-5 Broadway
For some time there have been complaints
about the tent-like awnings successive
unsuccessful restaurants in University
Hall have erected. It is good to report the
City has come up with a much less
obtrusive cantilevered awning that will
blend better with the State Heritage-listed
Hall. We also need mould-free and
movable Perspex screens, and unfortunately
the proposal is less clear on this
point.
Moreover there are some serious issues
with the redesign of the plaza.
A functioning,
vandal-proof Jubilee drinking fountain
would be welcome, but it is not clear
how the City intends the plaza to be used.
The design incorporates several levels
(the site has a slight slope) separated by
shallow steps, which would be hazardous
for the unwary pedestrian and a barrier for
the disabled. It also includes four block
benches described as “granite-clad with
timber seats”, but fails to mention if and
how the two other Heritage Items, Governor
Bourke’s Boundary Stone for the City
of Sydney and the memorial to the
indigenous boxer, Dave Sands, are to be
exhibited and protected.
The Society has
written asking for these issues to be
resolved.
Glebe and Forest Lodge
Urban Design Study
The sub-committee met recently to
consider some changes to this draft,
which will form the basis for the Glebe
section of a new City Town Plan. The
sub-committee was particularly concerned
about further consultation, and the need
to draw together all the different studies
for a holistic plan to be a blueprint for the
future. The city is developing a vision for
2030, and we would expect a much clearer
idea of how the various strategies currently
being developed will fit together to
achieve this.
- Neil Macindoe
Queries? email:
planning@glebesociety.org.au
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