Heritage and sustainability focus for draft Sydney LEP

By Simon Black

The City of Sydney’s proposed Draft Local Environment Plan will provide incentives to developers who provide space for showers, lockers and bicycle parking in a bid to encourage sustainable transport.

The LEP will assign bonus floor space for new commercial and office development that provide end of trip facilities for their workers. The space will be in addition to the overall building floor space calculations which will give extra development capacity to buildings that are sustainability-conscious.

Chief Executive Officer, Monica Barone, said in a statement the proposal would help the 600,000 workers who came into to the city each day to access sustainable transport.

“A lot of people are put off riding or walking in to the city because their offices simply don’t have the space to store bicycles or appropriate change rooms and showers,” she said.

Ms Barone said the benefits of cycling or walking to the office as not only health but also “cleaner air, reduced traffic congestion and shorter travel times to and from work”.

The plan will also see extra heritage protection extended to three inner city suburbs and the creation of 53 new heritage items including the Australian Youth Hotel in Glebe and the former home of publisher Juanita Nielsen at 202 Victoria Street, Potts Point who mysteriously disappeared in the 1970s.

There are also provisions to build housing for city workers, such as police, ambulance and emergency services personnel as well as changes to the approval processes for outdoor licenses on footpaths and special focus to be given to the development of Green Square Town Centre in the south of the city.

“Pending agreement from the Council, and the Department of Planning, there will be a comprehensive community engagement and exhibition period so everyone can have their say on the draft controls,” Ms Barone said.

The LEP will go before Council on Monday September 13 for consideration.