Today
I almost fell off my chair by the backward attitude of city planners when I
read the news on ‘Planners reject rooftop proposal’ by
Yolanda Zaw in The West Australian.
A rooftop outdoor cinema and beach club planned above an under-utilised carpark in Scarborough has been rejected by City of Stirling planners. The project will have an open air pop-up cinema, restaurant and live music venue that can contain 1000 people with stunning views overlooking the majestic Indian Ocean.
The company behind the proposal, ISpy Entertainment, said that the idea was inspired by the famous outdoor cinemas in Bondi and Broome as well as numerous beach bars in Europe. What they are actually implying is that it is a project that could guarantee success and keep up to pace with the current trend around Australia and the world.
The project is to be named The Sunset Boulevard Beach Club, is planned to be built on the 2000sqm rooftop of the Wilson carpark on Manning Street, and it would operate through summer.
ISpy Entertainment director Robert Redmond said that: "By utilising the run-down carpark, reactivating it and making the empty space accessible, we can change the culture of the building and make it a lifestyle and tourism destination that is the pride of Scarborough beach".
All these seem to be valid reasons to have this project stimulate the local economy and should be welcomed by people in the neighbourhood. However not everyone share the same foresight with Robert when the City of Stirling's planning committee refused to endorse the proposal, citing non-compliance to parking and noise regulations.
They claimed the proposed venue, which fronts on to The Esplanade - Scarborough's commercial strip where bars and entertainment venues are the preferred use - would "conflict with surrounding land uses to the extent it will compromise the amenity of the locality due to noise, light emissions, traffic and car parking". This statement itself is a joke and they don’t even realise that they are actually contradict themselves! Here you have a project proposed to be on top of an existing carpark facing an existing commercial and entertainment strip, and you say that it will create noise problem and compromise with the local amenities. I think the planners don’t know the fact that nobody actually live inside a carpark and therefore shouldn’t pose any noise problem, should someone tell them that? This project will not compromise the existing amenities but will complement and enhance the social activities in the area.
Scarborough has always been a tourist destination but its condition is deteriorating without visionary ideas to rejuvenate it. It will never become a tourism hub if the City keeps pushing away potential investment without any sensible reason.
A rooftop outdoor cinema and beach club planned above an under-utilised carpark in Scarborough has been rejected by City of Stirling planners. The project will have an open air pop-up cinema, restaurant and live music venue that can contain 1000 people with stunning views overlooking the majestic Indian Ocean.
The company behind the proposal, ISpy Entertainment, said that the idea was inspired by the famous outdoor cinemas in Bondi and Broome as well as numerous beach bars in Europe. What they are actually implying is that it is a project that could guarantee success and keep up to pace with the current trend around Australia and the world.
The project is to be named The Sunset Boulevard Beach Club, is planned to be built on the 2000sqm rooftop of the Wilson carpark on Manning Street, and it would operate through summer.
ISpy Entertainment director Robert Redmond said that: "By utilising the run-down carpark, reactivating it and making the empty space accessible, we can change the culture of the building and make it a lifestyle and tourism destination that is the pride of Scarborough beach".
All these seem to be valid reasons to have this project stimulate the local economy and should be welcomed by people in the neighbourhood. However not everyone share the same foresight with Robert when the City of Stirling's planning committee refused to endorse the proposal, citing non-compliance to parking and noise regulations.
They claimed the proposed venue, which fronts on to The Esplanade - Scarborough's commercial strip where bars and entertainment venues are the preferred use - would "conflict with surrounding land uses to the extent it will compromise the amenity of the locality due to noise, light emissions, traffic and car parking". This statement itself is a joke and they don’t even realise that they are actually contradict themselves! Here you have a project proposed to be on top of an existing carpark facing an existing commercial and entertainment strip, and you say that it will create noise problem and compromise with the local amenities. I think the planners don’t know the fact that nobody actually live inside a carpark and therefore shouldn’t pose any noise problem, should someone tell them that? This project will not compromise the existing amenities but will complement and enhance the social activities in the area.
Scarborough has always been a tourist destination but its condition is deteriorating without visionary ideas to rejuvenate it. It will never become a tourism hub if the City keeps pushing away potential investment without any sensible reason.
The planners’ rejection to
this proposal is like telling people that: “We are happy with our boring lives,
stay away and don’t mess things up. We don’t need progress because we already
have the best beach in Australia.”
I was once in Kings Park admiring
the beautiful night scene of Perth when I overheard a group of Malaysians from
KL talking about what they saw. This lady looked at the Swan River and was
amazed by it sheer size. She then said to her friend who is residing in Perth
that if it is in KL, the river would be reclaimed to build high rises or even
another city! I obviously don’t agree with that view completely because we must
always preserve the natural beauty of our city. But we could reclaim partially
by having man-made island in the middle of the Swan River and build an iconic
tower that would become the new focal point of the area. It would instantly
become a new tourist destination.
It always frustrates me to
read news like The Sunset Boulevard Beach Club when I think of the huge potential
of that state. Western Autralia has the longest coastlines compare to any other
states in this island continent and it has the potential to create a second
gold coast if only we have more planners with vision. But then again we are
talking about Perth where it has always been regarded as somewhat backwards
compare to Sydney and Melbourne. It is a city where a ten storey hotel is also
being rejected as being too massive. It is just embarrassing. With all the hype
of Perth being the boom city and how it is going to become an international
city, I doubt it will ever reach the level of Sydney or Melbourne if the same
panels of planners are not changed with people who has long term vision for the
city and the state as a whole.
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