The developer of a 22-storey student housing tower says it will not meet new noise attenuation requirements imposed by the City of Perth near the Northbridge party precinct, but it does havean alternative.
GES Real Australia is seeking approval for the 720-bed project on a 1518sq m site at 97-99 Stirling Street. The site is between the 23-storey Yugo Perth City student housing tower and the 22-storey Oracle Apartments.
The site north of the city’s CBD is 600m from Edith Cowan University’s new Perth City Campus and a walk away from the Perth train station, North Metropolitan TAFE and the Perth Cultural Centre.
In March, the City of Perth introduced development requirements aimed at ameliorating noise impacts on residential developments from loud venues such as nightclubs. The regulations were in turn designed to protect the viability of the venues.
The GES application said the standards were not capable of being achieved for the Stirling Street PBSA.
The firm’s planning report identified the nearest late-night venue as The Court Hotel, a well-known, longstanding spot catering mainly to Western Australia’s LGBTQ+ community, about 135m south of the site.
GES argued its site was on the periphery of the noise-sensitive area regulated by the city, and so the exercise of extraordinary discretion concerning noise attenuation would be warranted.
“Given the inherent challenge in achieving the required façade attenuation, consideration has been given to how the intent and objectives of the framework may be achieved through other means,” GES said.
“Overall, it is considered that the primary goal is to protect sleeping areas from excessive noise.
“Put simply, the prescribed scheme standard measures how much sound the building façade removes, whereas the alternative approach we have developed measure[s] the noise actually experienced by a resident within the sleeping room.”
Designed by mja studios, the development would have five car parking bays, including one accessible bay, along with two motorcycle bays and 66 bicycle spaces.
GES—directed by Melbourne-based Alan Hall and Czech Republic-based Radka Zachova and David Barva—anticipated that construction of the tower would take 24 months.
Public comment on the planned tower is open until November 15.
