Residents of a Point Cook street have slammed a proposal to build six double-storey houses in their cul-de-sac, saying a report submitted by the developers contains “glaring factual errors” about parking availability in the area.

Wyndham council approved a planning permit application to build the six houses – along with two car spaces per dwelling – in Cowan Parkway at a meeting earlier this month, despite receiving 31 objections to the plan.

Although three councilors – Mia Shaw, Tony Hooper and Aaron An – voted against the proposal, it was passed by the other councillors present, much to the dismay of residents in the gallery.

One of the residents, Colin French, submitted several questions to the council during the meeting, including one which stated a traffic engineering report submitted by the developers’ town planners, Song Bowden Planning, “appears to have glaring factual errors”.

Mr French said the report claimed there were 24 to 28 car spaces available on the street in Cowan Parkway, which he said was incorrect.

Mr French said Cowan Parkway, being six metres wide from curb-to-curb, could only accommodate a total of 15 cars.

He said the report also disregarded the fact that the development would displace some of the existing carparks at the end of the cul-de-sac and that, legally, only one side of the street could accommodate parking.

“Our children’s safety is at risk, emergency vehicles will struggle to get up the street, rubbish bin collections may become impossible,
an unspoilt, quiet, leafy street disappears and the push to drive up population, density despite over-crowded Point Cook schools  and limited parklands continues,” Mr French said.

But a Wyndham council report into the planning application said the council’s engineering services unit has reviewed car parking demand in Cowan Parkway and “had raised no objections”.

A representative of Song Bowden Planning declined to comment, when contacted by Star Weekly.

Originally Published by Alesha Capone, Star Weekly