Planning Policy

Ms SANDERSON (Adelaide) (15:07): My question is to the Minister for Planning. Did the minister anticipate that the Transit Living Policy development through the Urban Corridor Zone would include the approval of high density and high-rise housing of four storeys in small side streets of residential zones? For residents of Richmond Avenue, Prospect this has meant the recent approval for demolition of a character home built in 1937 in their street on 535 square metres being replaced with a four-storey, 10-apartment development in a narrow residential street that is not on the main road.

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform) (15:08): There are a number of important matters that emerge from the question being asked. I will deal with them one by one because if you get them all tangled up it does get a bit more complicated than it should be. First of all, character.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The members for Colton and Unley are warned. Sorry, it is called to order in the case of the member for Colton.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: The first thing is character and heritage. If we are dealing with a property which has local heritage value and is on the register there is a process through which that property must go if there is an intention to demolish or substantially interfere with that property. That process is quite independent of the development assessment process in terms of building a new property. It is a point in time before that and so I can only say that that would have been assessed according to the rules of Prospect council. That property was either a character property that was listed or it wasn't, and I don't know any of the particulars about that.

The second point I would make is that the DPA in relation to Prospect was one which, if I remember correctly, was a ministerial DPA at the explicit request of the Prospect council. If I remember correctly, they had the view that they did not have sufficient resources—

Ms Sanderson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Adelaide is warned a second and final time.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: They had the view they did not have sufficient resources to do all of the work themselves and asked us to assist them, but we did what they asked us to do. The idea of there being densification in certain areas within the Prospect council area is entirely something that has been arrived at as a result of the processes undertaken by that council with its ratepayers. We have simply executed that proposition for them by issuing a DPA.

The third point I would raise is this. I am not sure exactly by what definition anybody could call four storeys high rise. Nowhere, in South Australia even, would you call four storeys high rise. In some parts of the world they wouldn't even call it low rise. The fact of the matter is there is an enormous amount of economic activity going on in Prospect and, if the member for Adelaide wanted to take a drive down Churchill Road, for example, the member for Adelaide might notice that there are literally tens of millions of dollars worth of investment going on right now in that part of the city directly as a result of rezones that have occurred in the last 12 to 18 months.

We have buildings there—I know it is shocking to some—some of which are above two storeys, some are three storeys and there might be one or two that are four storeys. Can I say some of these buildings—I invite anybody who wants to to drive down Churchill Road—are very attractive buildings. Mr Speaker, you might be surprised to hear this but there are fantastic two-bedroom apartments very close to the city—walking or cycling distance (comfortable cycling distance from Barton Road)—on Churchill Road and they were selling—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. J.R. RAU: I know but he might have friends in Griffith.

The SPEAKER: It is a pity that the member's time has expired because there was a great deal of clarification there. The member for Adelaide.