Rosebery residents say no to “mega depot”

Council has bought one of the old Aristocrat sites, bounded by Harcourt Parade, Mentmore Avenue, Dunning Avenue and Hayes Road. The Group points out that the Council has already approved the building of 118 flats. It goes on to argue that this is a combination of depots from Zetland, Alexandria and Redfern, and therefore will be a “mega depot”.

It argues that there are better sites for such a depot. “There are massive blocks of industrial/commercial land (with no residential sites nearby) in the City south area. Many of these are located on main roads and many are for sale. Why choose to put a traffic-generating, sleep-disturbing facility in an increasingly residential area?”

The Group also claims that the Council planned and bought the site in secret.

Councillor Di Tornai from the Lord Mayor’s team, in a statement to the SSH, responds: “It’s not a ‘mega depot’, but of course it’s a works depot, which has quite different uses. In recent days Council staff canvassed some residents in the immediate area and were generally pleased with the degree of understanding and level of positive feedback about plans for the site.

“There’s also been some inference that it was a ‘secret deal’. It’s more a case of good business sense for the City to use a third party to negotiate on our behalf. Telegraphing interest in this, or any site, would predictably drive the purchase price upwards and that’s not the way to get the best deal for the City and ratepayers.

“Apart from being a works depot that will build significant operational efficiencies for the Ci ty  through amalgamating five sites currently dispersed across the City of Sydney, this depot will establish a strong presence for Council in the southern area of the City. In fact, the proposed design and operation of this Depot recognises this other role – that is, the presence of the City of Sydney.

“The facility exemplifies the different roles a single facility can incorporate into an area. The facility is close to residential areas, so steps have been taken to minimise impacts on residents. For example, vehicles will use Botany Road then come across to the depot and the driveways are all located on the side of the block away from residents. By doing this vehicles will reduce their impact on residential streets. According to the report which came before Council, the change of use won’t exceed noise levels produced by the former owner, Aristocrat. Staff numbers will be quite a bit lower so there will be a reduction in the impact of traffic and parking.”

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