The Sydney Roosters Football Club and AFL head office will call the Entertainment Quarter home for up to four years following changes made to state planning policy today.
The changes, announced today by the Department of Planning and Environment, will allow the club’s training and health facilities and administrative buildings to be moved temporarily to the Entertainment Quarter for up to four years during the redevelopment of Sydney Football Stadium.
The changes made to State Environmental Planning Policy No 47 – Moore Park Showground (SEPP 47) include allowing the Byron Kennedy Hall, two nearby buildings and a demountable building to be installed on a former carpark to be used for the club’s facilities until 1 January 2023.
Given their temporary nature and relatively low scale, the facilities will be allowed to be constructed through complying development, provided they meet a number of strict standards that will ensure they do not negatively impact the surrounding area.
These standards will ensure the temporary facilities are similar to existing buildings on site and that they do not detract from other uses in the Entertainment Quarter.
Development standards include a maximum height of two storeys or eight metres, compliance with the Building Code of Australia and restricted hours of operation between 6am and 11pm.
The changes were exhibited for consultation from the community and stakeholders last month and received a considerable level of interest from the community, with 90 submissions.
We understand concerns raised regarding loss of public space, inconsistency of the development with the Entertainment Quarter’s normal uses and the longer term future of the precinct.
These changes are only temporary. The uses of the Entertainment Quarter for film, television and entertainment purposes will not be diminished.
The proposed facilities will be located within existing buildings and on a former car park and will not result in loss of any open space.
They will be low scale, temporary and reversible. A provision has been included in the policy that requires the uses to cease and works to be removed at the end of the four-year period,” she said.
