Minister for Planning approves Amendment 63

The Minister for Planning has approved Amendment 63 (Preston Street Neighbourhood Centre) subject to a number of modifications.

In May 2020, the Council resolved to support Amendment 63, which alters the planning controls for land within the Preston Street Neighbourhood Centre. This included changes to density and building height requirements that would allow buildings generally a maximum of 4 storeys, with potential for up to 6 storeys, to occur within the precinct.

The feedback provided by the community helped shape Council’s position on the amendment.

The final version of Amendment 63 includes a number of modifications made by the Minister for Planning, including

• Re-instating the maximum 13 storey height limit on ‘Site S’ (Cygnet Theatre side) and 8 storey height limit on ‘Site R’ (IGA side) as originally requested by the amendment proponents
• Modifying the distribution of height on each site, including limiting the height of buildings to Eric Street (Site S) to 5 storeys in lieu of the proponents proposal of 8 storeys. The changes result in height being concentrated in two towers (13 storeys on ‘Site S’ and 8 storeys on ‘Site R’), instead of being more spread out across the sites
• Increasing the rear/south setback on ‘Site R’ to improve light access and reduce the impact of building bulk; and
• Removing the Council’s proposal to make Shops greater than 1,200sqm a discretionary land use.

The amendment will now apply to new development. A copy of the Minister's resolution is available for download via the document library.

The provisions have been added to Town Planning Scheme 6, which is available for download from the City's website.