BY JARROD MELMETH AND JESSICA ROUSE
A development application has been lodged with Maitland City
Council for a three-storey apartment block at Morpeth, but residents say
it will lead to major traffic and parking issues in the area.
The proposed site is the former Griffins Motors site in Swan Street, but there’s a major issue – it’s part of the Morpeth heritage conservation area.
GHT Holdings are looking to transform the site, and the Heritage Impact Statement they lodged says the project will have minimal impact on the heritage significance of the surrounding conservation area and nearby heritage items.
The developer also says the design is supposed to resemble stables and reflect the town’s transport history.
However, some Morpeth residents totally disagree.
The unit block would be called Morpeth Central Residences bordering
William and Market Streets with a contemporary design including rendered
walls, vertically oriented windows, face brickwork, corrugated metal
roofs, a verandah and also solar panels and a row of single garages at
the rear of the site to cater for car parking needs.
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Morpeth Central Residences Image maitlandmercury.com.au from Statement of Heritage Impact report which was written by John Carr Heritage Design for developer GHT Holdings |
President of the Morpeth Heritage Conservation Group Simon Brooker says he hopes commonsense will prevail and the application won’t progress.
“It’s two storey’s, it’s inconsistent with the street line, it sticks
out like a sore thumb and it’s just totally and utterly inappropriate to
the township.”
“We’re looking at an application for 28 2-bedroom apartments plus
parking for 26 cars – now that in itself causes a significant issue
because if you look at the last census in 2011 the average household has
2 cars, we’re looking at an additional 30-plus vehicles,” said Simon Brooker.
Maitland Council are seeking feedback on the plans until April 12.