Response to Further Information Request - July 2024 · MCU23/0096

 “Adamson Town Planning, specialising in providing higher order town planning advice”




2. Noting that the proposal is for an ancillary performance arts centre, which includes 12
   studios/practice rooms, generously sized stores, and breakout areas, and that the “larger
   building forms” on adjacent parcels were established under superseded planning schemes:

2.1. Demonstrate how the proposal respects the scale of surrounding development, including on
     the site itself, and does not present an appearance of bulk, particularly from Walter Hay
     Drive, Shorehaven Park and its environs. This may include streetscape perspective or
     renders that show how the building will sit within site and views from adjacent
     developments.

Response:

Since the response was provided to the first information request, the proposal plans have
been amended to reduce the height of the portion of the building facing Walter Hay Drive.
The south elevation face has a building height of about 7.3m, with the PAC also setback
about 40m and generally well removed from the roadway.

The applicant has also lowered the overall height of building by about 1.2m, by excavating
into the site, to provide an amphitheatre towards the north. This means the overall height of
the building is about 10.5m from the natural ground level and 11m from the finished ground
level. The proposal plans for the PAC demonstrating these changes are dated 15 May 2024.

The GLSC has advised that … the performing arts centre has specific design requirements to
operate and function to meet the needs of the College. It is the spaces and configurations and
connectedness that are needed to support its core function. The primary focus of the space is
teaching and learning, not a performance venue. The breakout spaces are tutorial rooms that
support individual and small group learning. They are sized to support the nature of the
learning that will be delivered in the space. Even the ‘stage’ space will operate as a classroom
as its primary use. The nature of teaching performing arts is such that students will routinely
use multiple spaces, starting out in a group and then dispersing into locations for individual or
small group development. The design and layout of the building is such that it allows this to
occur in a supported and monitored manner, proximity to teachers and staff is imperative.

The College has agreed to a range of measures to reduce the appearance of bulk, including
changes to the southern end of the building where it faces Walter Hay Drive, increased
vegetation buffers and lowering the building into the site at significant cost and additional
complexity (discussed above). It is important to note that the land available at the GSLC is
limited and needs to be used efficiently. It is not possible to provide the facilities that College
needs without being contained in a single two (2) storey building in the central location shown.

A number of photomontages have been provided to demonstrate the proposed PAC will not
have an adverse impact on the streetscape and from Shorehaven Park when viewed off the
site. This includes from the various vantage points close to Walter Hay Drive and from the
pathway within Shorehaven Park to the east. The photomontages demonstrate that the

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23002 – Good Shepherd Lutheran College – Preliminary Approval & Performing Arts Centre