FACT SHEET

Centre Caringbah

Why are changes proposed for Caringbah Centre?

While Caringbah boasts a growing population, good proximity to both Sutherland Public Hospital and Kareena Private Hospital, a number of good schools, a range of retail shops and services and good public transport accessibility, Caringbah Centre lacks the focus and vitality expected in a centre of its size. This is primarily due to the rise of Westfield Miranda as a retail centre, the emergence of Taren Point as a bulky goods hub and of Cronulla an entertainment precinct. As a result, there has been no significant redevelopment in the core commercial area for ten years. A number of key businesses have recently vacated the centre. It is considered that Caringbah needs a new strategic vision to regain its place within the Shire’s hierarchy of centres.

The core of the Caringbah Centre Strategy is to encourage urban regeneration through increased residential development, improved retail choice and the promotion of the centre as a location of medical services. The strategy also aims to change the focus of the centre from one dominated by traffic to a more pedestrian-focused centre, with an improved public domain, extended pedestrian walkways and public plaza space. The intention is to also improve the landscaping of public places and to retain adequate sunlight access to public spaces. Caringbah Centre should be an attractive housing option across age groups, but careful design focus on accessibility and the needs of aged people will make it a place where older people can remain independent and active longer.

What is proposed?

Under DSSLEP2013, Caringbah Centre is proposed to be zoned B3 Commercial Core, with building heights ranging from 16 metres (4 storeys) up to 30 metres (9 storeys). In some cases, the height increase is to allow the current floor space potential to be realised. Other sites, where additional floor space can be accommodated, have an increased floorspace ratio (FSR) and increased height limits.

Development in the centre is expected to be mixed use, with residential flats at upper levels. Allowing higher development creates opportunities for dwellings to be located above traffic level while gaining district views of Bay and the city beyond. If more people are attracted to live in the centre, local shops, cafes, restaurants and services will be revitalised through increased trade. New buildings will also create quality commercial spaces for new businesses. (See the separate Fact Sheet: B3 Commercial Core for uses permitted with consent in this zone.) A range of additional height and FSR bonuses are offered across a number of strategically important sites in and around the Caringbah’s commercial centre, subject to achieving site-specific criteria.

Fact Sheet: Caringbah Centre – September 2014 – Page 1 of 2

Outside the centre, the area bounded by , the Kingsway, Flide Street and is identified as a special development zone. Here, the maximum building height is proposed to increase to 20 metres (5-6 storeys), provided the redevelopment includes medical facilities. It is anticipated that the ground and first floor will have medical facilities, with residential uses above, integrated into a landscaped setting. (See Caringbah Medical Precinct Fact Sheet for further information.)

A new residential flat zone is proposed for the area of Caringbah focused on Willarong Road and Taren Point Road, including the surplus southern lot of Caringbah High School, the Bowling Club and adjacent land zoned Local Housing under SSLEP2006. The maximum height for development on the ex-school site is proposed to be 30 metres (9 storeys) and the maximum FSR 1.5:1, on the condition that vehicle access is provided to the adjacent Taren Point Road lots.

To the south, the area bounded by Willarong Road, Dianella Street and Caringbah North Primary School, is proposed to be rezoned as R4 High Density Residential to extend the existing residential flat zone. A height limit of 16 metres (4-5 storeys) is proposed with an increase in FSR to 1.2:1. (See Caringbah Willarong Road Precinct Fact Sheet for further information).

To see where the B3 and R4 zones apply in Caringbah, use the MAPPING TOOL.

What has changed since the exhibition of LEP2?

Most of Caringbah’s commercial area is to remain the same as LEP2, except for the following site specific changes:  For the Council owned Hay Avenue surface car park site, the height is to be decreased from 40m to 30m and the floor space ratio is to be decreased from 3.5:1 to 2.5:1.  172A Willarong Rd, 365 Kingsway and 53 Banksia Ave, height is to be increased from 16m to 25m and the floor space ratio increased from 2:1 to 2.5:1.  336-338, 340 and 344-346 Kingsway, mapped height is unchanged at 25m however a bonus height of 5m is now offered if sites amalgamate with others in Area 1 which includes Council’s car park.  Coles site at 178-184 Willarong Rd to have height reduced from 46m to 30m and 186 Willarong Rd, 41-45 President Ave, 47 President Ave to have height reduced from 46m to 20m.

For the Willarong Road Precinct, including the former Caringbah High School Site the following changes have been made:  87-97 Willarong Rd is to be rezoned from R4 High Density Residential to R2 Low Density Residential with a decrease in height from 16m to 8.5m and FSR from 1.2:1 to 0.55:1.  122-126A Willarong Rd decrease in height from 20m to 13m and FSR from 1.2:1 to 1:1.  128-144 Willarong Rd and 1-13 Dianella Street, maximum height to be reduced from 20m to 16m and maximum FSR to be reduced from 1.5:1 to 1.2:1.  For Caringbah High School site a bonus FSR can be provided if development facilitates access, this has been reduced from 0.8:1 to 0.5:1 taking the total maximum FSR from 2:1 to 1.5:1.

The following site specific changes are also proposed:  Caringbah Medical Precinct - 416, 414 Kingsway, 315, 317 319 and 321 Taren Point Road are to be included on the Land Acquisition map to indicate Council’s intention to purchase a strip of land, when the lots redevelop, to accommodate increased traffic within the redeveloped medical precinct.  435 Kingsway, ‘health services facilities’ allowed as additional permitted use.

Further information

For further details relating to the information in this fact sheet and the draft LEP 2013,

 visit the draft Sutherland Shire LEP website at www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au or  contact Council’s LEP hotline on (02) 9710 0800 or  email [email protected]

Fact Sheet: Caringbah Centre – September 2014 – Page 2 of 2