If you’re in Annerley, there is a proposal for a 6-storey healthcare centre on the corner of Ipswich Rd and Cornwall St.
The developers are are proposing this under a Ministerial Infrastructure Designation. This is a planning loophole that was originally only used for public buildings - like schools or fire stations - but is now open for private developers to use. The consultation requirements are slim, the amount of information that developers need to offer up front is limited (less into than what you'd see in a normal development application), and the final decision-maker is the Planning Minister.
Other MIDs in the area include plans for a private school between Edmonstone St and Browning St, that could see the demolition of two low-cost housing blocks on Browning St (this proposal is still being considered by the Planning Minister) and another private health facility on Annerley Rd. I think MIDs should be banned for private facilities.
This six-storey building looks innocuous enough, but I’m concerned about the traffic impacts on already congested Ipswich Rd and Cornwall St. I’m also concerned about the proliferation of private health facilities - unless this centre is going to include a 100% bulk-billing GP and other publicly available and free health services, it’s not going to do much to ease the pressure on our health system. Data this week has shown that the government gave millions of dollars to private hospitals last year, to cover the gaps in the public system. Clearly our public health system is reaching a crisis point and more private facilities doesn’t help.
Formal consultation hasn’t opened yet, but the developers are looking for early feedback by 8 March, 2023.
The developers letter to me here.
You can send any feedback to [email protected]