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Council in race to meet Le Cornu site deadline

The Adelaide City Council needs to move quickly on plans to redevelop the old Le Cornu site or risk a potential legal challenge, a governance consultant has warned.

Apr 18, 2018, updated Apr 18, 2018
The former Le Cornu site at 88 O'Connell Street has been vacant for decades. Photo: Tony Lewis / InDaily

The former Le Cornu site at 88 O'Connell Street has been vacant for decades. Photo: Tony Lewis / InDaily

Natasha Jones, of Kelledy Jones Lawyers, told councillors at a committee meeting last night they should finalise significant decisions about the site by early August.

Plans for the redevelopment put out any later than that risked being challenged, said Jones, on the basis of caretaker provisions for the local government elections to be held late this year.

She advised that decisions that could be perceived to bind a future council ahead of the elections – even decisions taken before the official caretaker period begins – could be open to challenge.

“As you start to move closer, it will be wise to (avoid significant decision-making on the project),” Jones said.

“Early in August is better than the end of August.”

The caretaker period for local government begins on September 18.

Central ward councillor Megan Hender told the meeting the council already has a good idea about what the North Adelaide community wants on the Le Cornu site and should speed up the impending consultation process.

“We’ve got a very clear idea from the number of developments that have been proposed over time,” she said, adding that too much temporary activation of the site could persuade locals it was best kept as a park rather than developed.

“People might think ‘what a fabulous park we’ve got here’,” she said.

“We need to focus very strongly on getting this property back on the market and limit our holding costs.”

Area councillor Anne Moran agreed.

“If I was a new candidate I’d (run on a platform to) keep it as a park … we cannot do that,” she said.

“The appetite for a development is there now.

“We should move quickly and we can move quickly.”

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But North Ward councillor Sue Clearihan urged her colleagues not to “patronise” ratepayers.

“Let’s respect our community – they’re not stupid … people know it won’t become a park,” she said.

“They know that the majority of people want it developed.”

The council should apply “more haste, less speed”, Clearihan said.

“Steady as she goes,” she said.

But also: “Let’s not waste time.”

Moran added that the council had consulted the community every time a development had been approved there – none of which came to pass – and the purpose of the latest consultation should be to check if ratepayers still hold the same opinions, rather than to ask broad questions about what should be built there.

She told InDaily this morning North Adelaide residents had consistently favoured two- or three-storey buildings at the front of the site with ground floor retail outlets and upper floor commercial offices, four- or five-storey residential accommodation further back, plus some green space and underground car parking.

The council’s administration is planning a series of informal community consultation events in North Adelaide and a “brainstorm” session for elected council members to inform a “working paper” and, eventually, a “guiding principles” document.

Council director of services Steve Matthewson told last night’s meeting council staff would aim to meet the August deadline.

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