The growth in jobs and housing envisaged in the revised draft Brookvale Structure Plan is carefully balanced and aligned with foreseeable road network capacity limits.

The potential for additional growth to be unlocked in Brookvale in the future through major road network upgrades and changes in travel demand and traffic generation has been explored. However, this potential relies on major infrastructure investment by the State and Federal Government.

The revised draft Brookvale Structure Plan contemplates an amount of growth that can be accommodated by the existing road network with limited achievable upgrades.

The building heights and density were carefully determined having regard to feasibility analysis, stakeholder feedback, built form analysis, and character.

The Action Plan on page 42 of the draft Brookvale Structure Plan document lists a number of items that Council will need to implement to support the proposed growth.

In relation to traffic infrastructure, Action 30 states that Council will “prepare a 7.11 local contributions plan for Brookvale to levy contributions toward the delivery of necessary traffic infrastructure upgrades to support 1,300 dwellings and 975 jobs in Brookvale.

This includes:

• Willandra Road upgrades

• New short left turn lane on Harbord Road northbound north of Abbott Road

• Beacon Hill Road / Warringah Road intersection upgrade

• Extending the right turn bay from Warringah Road to Allambie Road

• Laneway adjustment to Cornish Avenue

• Extended parking restrictions on the southern side of Abbott Road

• New traffic signals at Allambie Road / Rodborough Road

• The adoption of peak period parking restrictions along the eastern side of Harbord Road and on both sides of Pittwater Road

• New traffic signals at Harbord Road / Brighton Street.

Wherever we can, we are working to expand green space as much as possible and to strengthen connections to it. This is very difficult, though, as it is quite expensive to build additional green spaces, especially in the middle of an urban area like Brookvale, where feasibility has been a problem and where it is also important to provide affordable housing and workspace.

Within the investigation area, most developed open space falls within Brookvale Park, which provides green open space, a District playground, basketball, cricket net and fitness equipment. The sportsfield is available for public access and bookings when not used by the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles for rugby league.

Green Street Park also provides for local open space within the investigation area and provides a highly used playground.

The investigation area is bordered by several larger public open space areas. This includes Allenby Park to the west which provides natural open space and a tranquil setting for a walk through the rainforest and a picnic. To the east is a district scale John Fisher Park, which provides extensive green open spaces and associated activities which are readily available to the residents of Brookvale.

We think that working with the Warringah Mall site to create a new town square with open space is the greatest option to improve green space. The location of this space intends to enhance Brookvale's natural and green grid, make use of its proximity to the B-Line stop, help with water management, and serve as an anchor for the community's future commercial, civic, and entertainment hubs. This area is expected to be very active, serving as a gathering spot for locals, workers, and visitors as well as a potential venue for community activities.

Any new residential floorspace is proposed to have 5% of it designated for affordable rental accommodation. This could result in the delivery of about 65 apartments for affordable housing.

We must be able to show that affordable housing contribution rates are viable and will not affect development feasibility in order to comply with the State Government’s Guidelines for implementing an affordable housing contributions scheme.

Throughout the preparation of the draft Structure Plan, higher rates of affordable housing have been tested. However, to attain a higher percentage, we would need to further increase proposed building heights to meet the State Government’s requirements to implement an affordable housing contributions scheme.

Brookvale is the Northern Beaches’ most accessible centre. By concentrating employment and housing growth close to the B-line bus stop, the revised draft Brookvale Structure Plan is supporting walkability and use of public transport, which reduces reliance on private cars and is one of the most effective ways of reducing carbon emissions on the Northern Beaches.

A 5% contribution to affordable housing will be applicable in all future residential development in the Brookvale centre. This could see the delivery of approximately 65 affordable housing dwellings. Affordable housing contributions greater than 5% are unlikely to be tolerated due to the densities proposed and existing high land values, which currently allow 3 to 4 storeys (11m).

Brookvale presents an opportunity to further strengthen its role as the ‘home for businesses’ on the Northern Beaches with high quality, professional office space near the B-line and Warringah Mall (in the Core, Industrial West and Zone SP4 Enterprise precincts) providing an opportunity to meet the needs of local professional and creative businesses. With growing numbers of professionals in our resident workforce, many are seeking the opportunity to live and work locally by starting their own businesses, often from home. With one local business for every 4.8 local workers, a large portion of residents on the Northern Beaches own their own business! There is an opportunity to lure many of these sole traders and small businesses out of their home offices and into environments where they can network and collaborate with other likeminded business owners, secure investment, do business with each other, host clients in a professional environment and hire their first team members. Access to the city via the B-line for meetings, walking to Warringah Mall for lunch and the breweries for after work drinks already make Brookvale an appealing place for local professionals and creatives to locate. The revised draft Brookvale Structure Plan seeks to provide more modern professional floorspace and opportunities for local businesses.

The revised draft Brookvale Structure Plan has been informed by an Employment Study which has helped to provide a stronger vision for the economic role and function for each precinct. Updated traffic modelling and analysis has identified capacity to support an additional 975 jobs with minor traffic infrastructure upgrades. It’s difficult to predict employment outcomes as employment densities really depend on each business and its activity. A large showroom may only have one staff member at a time, while a maker-space or office in the same space could have many workers with tightly packed desks or half the workforce working from home on a given day.

The revised draft Brookvale Structure Plan positions most of its employment growth close to the B-line in The Core and the SP4 Enterprise zone along Dale Street to support access by public and active transport. Pittwater Road may see a negligible change to overall employment numbers as the requirement for first floor offices has been removed in favour of more flexible high ceiling showroom spaces with optional mezzanine office space. While heights and the volume of employment floorspace in the industrial areas is proposed to increase, this is not expected to result in a dramatic increase in employment as industrial activity becomes increasingly automated with fewer more highly skilled workers. With a high rate of private land ownership in Brookvale and tight feasibility, it’s expected that take up and renewal may take many years.

Creative businesses will continue to be supported across Brookvale depending on their predominant types of activity. Creative industrial uses including creative production and high technology industry (think video production, recording studios, artist studios and set design) will continue to be supported in the industrial zone noting the need to prioritise the industrial zone for industrial uses that are unable to locate in other zones. Non-industrial creative businesses will be supported with opportunities for retail showrooms, makerspaces and performance spaces along Pittwater Road and Roger Street closer to the B-line and where there will be stronger visibility and access by the public. Professional creatives (think architects, graphic designers, marketing, product development, engineering) will be supported with high quality professional office floorspace close to the B-line and amenity of Warringah Mall while still retaining easy access to nearby supporting industrial functions including manufacturing, fabrication, printing and wholesale suppliers for a more networked and integrated supply chain.

The revised draft Brookvale Structure Plan highlights the need to integrate best practice environmental sustainability into the future planning controls including requirements for energy efficient scale solutions to reduce resource use, enhancing urban green buildings, encouraging precinct grid corridors, and providing green infrastructure in future development to absorb flood runoff, cool the environment, clean the air, and provide spaces for local food production and habitat for plants and animals.

Pittwater Road will be a mixed-use corridor with ground level uses that offer high ceiling spaces for showrooms, offices and creative maker spaces. There are opportunities along Pittwater Road to widen footpaths, increase street tree planting and introduce a shared cycleway.

Roger Street will continue to support light industrial activities such as vehicle repairs and showrooms whilst introducing new uses with a creativity focus to support a broader range of working spaces. These new uses include creative maker spaces, creative industries, artisanal food and drink producers and small-scale retail that will co-locate with residential above.

Since 2017, the Greater Sydney Commission have provided clear guidance to retain and manage industrial land in the North District of Sydney, recognising the importance of these spaces to support the functioning of our broader economy. Brookvale is the largest industrial precinct in the North District which has the lowest amount of industrial land per capita in Sydney. It’s important that we retain and manage Brookvale’s industrial land by prioritising its use by industrial businesses that are unable to locate in other zones.

Brookvale’s industrial role and function will be strengthened and protected with an increase in building heights from 11m to 18m encouraging renewal of industrial buildings to better meet the needs of modern industrial businesses. A lot is changing in the world of local manufacturing, distribution, wholesale trade and urban services and it’s important we support our local businesses to adapt to new ways of working with the spaces they need. While overall employment is not expected to grow by much in the Industrial area (think automation), demand for floorspace will remain strong with jobs becoming increasingly high skilled. With a lot of unmet demand in Brookvale driving industrial rents higher, it’s important that we provide more floorspace so that these highly valuable businesses and urban services (think getting your car serviced locally and supplies for your next renovation) can continue to operate in Brookvale.

We recognise that the proposed new town square is dependent on the redevelopment of the north-eastern part of the Warringah Mall site. The proposed town square is envisaged to be an initial stage of a longer-term vision of establishing a diverse mixed use core around the B-line stop.

A Structure Plan is a long term plan for an area that provides the vision and planning framework to guide future development.

It is not a rezoning document, but it can outline future land uses, building heights and densities.

A Structure Plan assists Council with its decision making functions e.g. planning proposals, development applications, responding to state government housing targets, infrastructure upgrades, council budgets etc.

The studies listed below informed the Brookvale Structure Plan.

• Traffic Study & Modelling
• Northern Beaches Employment Study
• North District Plan
• Northern Beaches Local Strategic Planning Statement – Towards 2040
• Northern Beaches Local Housing Strategy
• Northern Beaches Affordable Housing Strategy
• Northern Beaches Resilience Strategy - Withstand. Adapt. Thrive.
• Draft Northern Beaches Environment Strategy
• Northern Beaches Environment & Climate Change Strategy 2040 - Protect. Create. Live.
• Northern Beaches Transport Strategy 2038 - Move

Council consulted on a draft Structure Plan in 2017 and more than 100 submissions were received. The key issues raised related to traffic, parking, height, density and feasibility of development.

The 2017 draft plan was put on hold pending a comprehensive review of traffic and transport aspects and the implications for growth scenarios in Brookvale. At the same time, the State Government had finalised its North District Plan which included housing and job targets, and a strong mandate to retain and manage industrial land. Council was also embarking on preparation of its Local Strategic Planning Statement, Housing Strategy, LEP Review and other broad-ranging planning initiatives, all having implications for the future development of the Brookvale strategic centre.

The main revisions are:

• an increase in the number of planned new dwellings from approximately 570 to 1,300 which are focussed within close proximity to the B-Line stop and will go some way towards meeting housing targets on the Northern Beaches, as well as finding alternatives to identified dwelling numbers that will no longer be delivered by the Ingleside Precinct;
• increases in building heights in the town centre to 7 storeys furthest from the B-Line, increasing to 8 and 12 storeys (inclusive of a potential floor space ratio bonus for community infrastructure) closest to the B-Line;
• no additional permitted uses are proposed for the industrial zoned land, in order to retain the important economic and employment function of this land;
• increases in building heights for industrial zoned land to 4 storeys, in order to provide greater flexibility for businesses to expand and support modernised industrial floorspace;
• the transition area on the eastern side of Dale Street is no longer proposed for mixed-use, based on feedback from the former Greater Sydney Commission that it does not support rezoning of industrial land for residential purposes;
• residential options introduced to a part of the north-east corner of the Warringah Mall site in the form of mixed-use buildings with a minimum amount of employment floorspace; and
• 5,000m2 of land for a town square on the Warringah Mall site adjacent to the B-Line bus stop.

Significantly, in terms of public benefit, the revised draft Brookvale Structure Plan proposes to deliver:

• an identifiable ‘heart’ in the form of a vibrant town square next to the B-Line stop designed to support a variety of recreational, social and cultural pursuits and be a focus for pedestrian activity; and
• a minimum 5% (based on feasibility analysis) contribution to affordable housing in all future residential development in Brookvale centre.

After the public exhibition period, we will review all submissions and prepare a Response to Submissions Report. Changes may be made to the revised draft Brookvale Structure Plan, addressing the issues raised in those submissions. Further technical analysis may be required to support any changes.

Should the revised draft Brookvale Structure Plan be adopted by Council, the next phases of work to implement the Brookvale Structure Plan will include preparation of a Planning Proposal and supporting technical studies to amend the Local Environmental Plan (LEP), a 7.11 Development Contributions Plan (to levy development for community services and infrastructure), amendments to Council’s Affordable Housing Contributions Scheme, and an area-specific Development Control Plan setting out detailed planning and design guidelines to support the LEP controls. Depending on resourcing, this work could take one to two years to complete.