A proposal to increase building heights in Blaxland shopping centre could be going back to the drawing board following a community backlash and criticism from the mayor.
Blue Mountains mayor Mark Greenhill said the proposal – which would have allowed four-storey buildings in the retail precinct – “does not reflect my vision for the future of Blaxland and they clearly don’t reflect the vision of the community”.
Many residents responded negatively to artist’s impressions of the proposed changes shared on Facebook. An online council survey about the plans closed on Monday, January 21 – 41 survey submissions were made from November 24 until January 21.
“There is no doubt Blaxland can be improved… However, what was presented gave an impression that is not in keeping with what one expects of a Blue Mountains town,” said the mayor.
“My view is that we need to go back to the drawing board with Blaxland. The community view is clear and I agree.”
But Ward 4 Liberal Party councillor, Brendan Christie, said “starting again isn’t an option”.
“Council needs to do its job the community told them to do. We’ve spent too much money and the residents and businesses have given us many hours of their time just to throw the plan in the bin and go back to the drawing board,” he said.
“The community went in with good faith and then council ruined it with a grotesque map of what should have been a great plan. Council needs to actually listen to the community and businesses who spent the time to give council the feedback. Council needs to have a strong hard look at the notes and feedback they already have and fix the map before going back to the residents again.”
The images put on public exhibition raised alarm bells with many residents.
“If we wanted to live in the suburbs where multi-story buildings crowd the skyline we’d move to Penrith,” Leela Brown posted on Facebook.
Tania Alrich posted: “Feels like the slippery slope to more development in the Mountains along transport corridors... Please don’t do what has been done in places like Epping where unit blocks are gobbling up trees and changing streetscapes forever.”
“Looks more like Blacktown, not Blaxland,” wrote Roger Vanamois.
Some residents were more supportive. Anahita Zadeh wrote: “As a local business owner, this news couldn't be any better. Blaxland needs to be put on the map and more accessible to residents and visitors... And these are only concept drawings. This is not necessarily what the end result will look like.”
The mayor said the revitalisation of Lawson provided a good benchmark for the Blue Mountains.
“When I look at Lawson I see a town centre re-development that doesn’t look like the sort of thing we see in Sydney. It looks and feels like the Blue Mountains,” he said. “This is the sort of thing we can strive for in Blaxland.
“There is a clear message for the policy makers about heights and density and our challenge is to listen to this.”
The mayor’s Ward 4 Labor colleague, Darryl Bowling, agreed the proposal “needs to go back to the drawing board and needs a rethink”.
“In partnership [with council staff], I think we can produce an alternative vision that will connect with community and allow improvements for Blaxland that are in keeping with our desire to preserve our quality of life,” he said.
The proposed building height changes, which include basement parking, are part of the Blaxland master plan process.
“Provided the allowable height increases are economically feasible, these changes have potential to deliver positive outcomes for this town centre,” the master plan states.
These included the renewal of existing building stock to a higher design standard, provision of shop-top housing, and a reduction in anti-social activity by increasing casual surveillance.
