Roller shutters blight streetscapes

The South Sydney Local Environment Plan (LEP) has outlawed the shutters since 2001 and states: “Solid roller shutters are not permitted. Transparent or open grill shutters are permitted if located behind the shopfront.” Despite the LEP regulation, Redfern-Waterloo is awash with these devices and there are at least seven such structures in Darlinghurst Road. Recently Sydney City Council was forced to go to the Land and Environment Court to have a business in Glebe remove the solid roller shutter from its premises.

The residents and most of the business owners in these areas see these constructions as counter-productive to the very reason they were installed – to create security.

Instead they present a menacing, dimly lit streetscape where there is nothing to see for the window-shopper and therefore not much chance of a vibrant, safe thoroughfare.

President of the Potts Point and King Cross Conservation Society, Andrew Woodhouse, objects to the “grafitti and unused signage” and “the closed-for-business attitude” that does little to draw customers to the other businesses in the street.

The Kings Cross area is well known for its high number of liquor outlets but Mr Woodhouse said the fact that many use solid shutters when they are closed during the day is impacting on daytime businesses operators. “The night-time economy results in a dead-zone during the day and the day-time economy is being butchered,” he said.

Some of the solid roller shutters are the size of double garage doors and discourage the interactive “Sydney a City of Villages” atmosphere the Council is promoting.

Darlinghurst Resident Action Group co-convenor, Jo Holder, says Darlinghurst Road is a magnificent, elegant street that has a natural curve and a uniform low building height. “The solid shutters detract visually from the heritage-listed area and are inappropriate for the look of the street,” Ms Holder said.

She said the Group is disappointed in Council’s inadequate heritage streetscape policy. “Since the full-time Sydney Council strategic heritage planner resigned over 12 months ago, there is only a two-day-a-week consultant in the position,” Ms Holder said. “We are inadequately serviced on the heritage front.”

Councillor John McInerney, a former architect and town planner, agrees that solid shutters are a blight on shopping centres and offenders should be prosecuted.

Despite his position, however, he is against “hounding” business owners, and says even in Redfern, which has the highest proportion of solid roller shutters in the city, progress is being made. “These gains are largely due to the strength of the Chamber of Commerce which has asked all retailers to remove them,” Cr McInerny said.

Mr Woodhouse said the problem would continue as long as applications to Sydney Council to make improvements, vary DAs, and amend plans are approved “by the back door”.

“The Planning Department can approve an application under delegated authority,” he said. “There is then no requirement for public display and councillors and the general public do not have the opportunity to object.” Mr Woodhouse believes it is Council who should bear the cost of the removal of the solid roller shutters from businesses. “Council should cover all costs as they are allowing them to be installed illegally.” 

Sydney City Council failed to respond to SSH enquiries before deadline.

Photo: Andrew Collis - Shops behind solid shutters in Waterloo

Source: South Sydney Herald March 2009 www.southsydneyherald.com.au