How big is " too big " ?

There seems no doubt that corruption occurred in the planning department of Wollongong City council. Building plans were approved for structures that simply did not meet the laws that apply to buildings in this city - and yet those approvals would probably get the nod from most fair minded people.

Let us have a long, hard look at " Quattro ", the proposed development on the corner of Flinders and Keira street that seems to have attracted the most heat from the blow torch.

The Quattro plans envisaged two hundred and eighty residential units with parking for eight hundred and three cars. It was a beautiful series of several buildings on a landscaped site - but the sticking point was height.

Quattro would be forty eight metres at it's highest point - and the laws in place restrict buildings in Wollongong to just eleven metres.

Just have a look around the Wollongong skyline. We have heaps of buildings higher than eleven metres - including several under construction. It seems that this unreasonable height restriction only applies to those developments that fail to plead " special circumstances " and get approval on that basis.

Wollongong is the ninth biggest city in Australia. Big cities produce big buildings and a restriction to eleven metres is to condemn even a country town to " Hicksville " !

Now let us consider the plan that has Wollongong council salivating. The huge West Dapto development still in the planning stage - and awaiting a flood free access that seems beyond council resources to provide.

If West Dapto goes ahead there will be a monumental cost of providing streets, kerb and guttering and lighting for the thousands of building blocks involved. More expenses will be needed to bring sewage, water and power to the new subdivision - and that does not take into account the need for schools, medical, fire and ambulance facilities. All these services will be needed to convert what is now farmland to a city suburb.

In comparison, Quattro is sitting atop existing sewage, power, water and gas facilities. The surrounding street system is existing and is fully serviced with schools close by, shopping centres and places of employment.

Quattro would house approximately a thousand people with little extra expense to the city or the state government.

Perhaps the reason we have corruption - is because we have crazy planning laws !

This fragile planet does not need prime farming land turned into suburbia. It is the dawning age of the vertical village and we must make do with the existing facilities that are available.

Quattro met those obligations admirably - but it took corruption to get it past antiquated planning laws. Perhaps now would be a good time to review the restrictions that are preventing Wollongong becoming a modern Australian city !