The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinars
Urbanity
Awards
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
Untitled design (8)
25 DAYS UNTIL OUR UNMISSABLE FLAGSHIP CONFERENCE 29-31 JULY, GOLD COAST
25 DAYS UNTIL OUR FLAGSHIP CONFERENCE 29-31 JULY, GOLD COAST
SECURE YOUR SPOTDETAILS
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
ADVERTISEMENT
SHARE
1
print
Print
ResidentialClare BurnettTue 18 Jul 23

Triguboff Slams Planning After Stoush Over Parramatta Tower

Meriton 30 storey EDM

Meriton boss Harry Triguboff is celebrating a court win against the City of Parramatta over the developer’s planned 30-storey Epping tower.

A stoush over carparking was at the heart of the disagreement, leading to a trip to the Land and Environment Court, which ruled in favour of the developer last week.

Meriton filed plans for a 30-storey tower on a 4970sq m site at 37-41 Oxford Street last year.

The Scott Carver-designed, 29,000sq m project initially offered 211 apartments and six levels of basement parking, replacing an existing unused three-storey office building. 

However, it has faced backlash over multiple issues, forcing the prolific developer to change its plans.

Among the detractors, the Epping Civic Trust raised concerns with the council over parking, suggesting that additional parking provision on two additional basement floors “runs contrary to council’s recent requirements to limit parking in highrise apartments with green travel plans to encourage public transport use and discourage private vehicles”. 

Sydney Central City Planning panel rejected the proposal in September due to these parking issues, height variations that were initially requested, and a clause in the Hornsby Local Environmental Plan which does not allow floor space variation to be approved for shoptop housing.

As a result, Meriton cut its number of apartments to 204 and redesigned its basement carparking to five levels with basement envelope changes to levels two and three. 

This resulted in an increase in bicycle parking from 65 to 148 spots, and a reduction in carparking spaces to 299 from 317.

This was the central issue in the court case, as the council reportedly would only allow 220 spots.

null
▲ An artist’s impression of Meriton’s proposed 30-storey Epping apartment project. Image: Scott Carver


Trigoboff claimed the win was a “major victory”.

“It is clear that more and more people want to live in apartments but when council imposes conditions that go against the market then we have an obligation to fight for what is right,” Triguboff said in a media statement. 

“Our buyers and renters rely on their cars. Some use them during the week, others may only use them on the weekends, so to assume hundreds of residents would move into a building with inadequate parking is naive.” 

Triguboff criticised outdated rules and inflexibility for the issue.

“The council rules only allowed a number of car spaces, which the council was prepared to approve. 

“However, the rules were out of date and the court agreed with us that the number had to be increased. This is a very important victory because developers must understand that if the rules are out of date, they can stand on their rights and they will win.”

Triguboff said that councils needed to help increase unit production, and blamed the Department of Planning pushbacks and delays for Meriton building fewer apartments.

“We fought for 80 parking spaces for a year. They are doing nothing to increase the unit production, instead they are slowing it down,” he said.

ResidentialAustraliaParramattado not usePlanningPlanningSector
AUTHOR
Clare Burnett
More articles by this author
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP STORIES
Exclusive

Carparking Correlation: How Parking Fees Provide Office Sector Health Check

Taryn Paris
6 Min
Molti chief Ben Teague out front of 32 Mercer Road Aramadale (rendering)
Exclusive

Buy to the Sound of Cannons: Molti’s Counter-Cyclical Move to Melbourne

Leon Della Bosca
5 Min
Exclusive

Tapping the Bunnings ‘Halo Effect’

Taryn Paris
5 Min
Exclusive

‘Construction Not a Scale Game’: Hutchinson

Phil Bartsch
9 Min
Nation's build-to-rent project Charlie Parker in Sydney's Parramatta where more projects are being located and built outside the CBD.
Exclusive

Foreign Capital Still Dominates BtR but Things are Changing

Marisa Wikramanayake
7 Min
View All >
Exclusive

Carparking Correlation: How Parking Fees Provide Office Sector Health Check

Taryn Paris
Bunnings Clyde North
Markets

Bunnings Sold On as Charter Hall Doubles Down on Retail

Leon Della Bosca
ESR building ESR completes delisting
Industrial

ESR Reveals New Team After Hong Kong Delisting

Leon Della Bosca
Going private means plans to focus on logistics and data centres across the Asia-Pacific region can accelerate, ESR says…
LATEST
Exclusive

Carparking Correlation: How Parking Fees Provide Office Sector Health Check

Taryn Paris
6 Min
Bunnings Clyde North
Markets

Bunnings Sold On as Charter Hall Doubles Down on Retail

Leon Della Bosca
2 Min
ESR building ESR completes delisting
Industrial

ESR Reveals New Team After Hong Kong Delisting

Leon Della Bosca
3 Min
the four concept towers approved for sydney metro's parramatta precinct
Development

Rush of Approvals Sends Parramatta Skywards

Renee McKeown
2 Min
View All >
ADVERTISEMENT
Article originally posted at: https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/triguboff-meriton-parramatta-court-win-carparking