Query on GP centre
A PROPOSAL to redevelop the Kirwan Family Practice has gone on public notification, with a government department asking for the upscaled site to go through a rethink.
The upgrades to the site are planned to accommodate five extra consultants and associated allied health services.
Additional features have been added in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with a “generously sized” waiting room, sufficient space to social distance and a dedicated isolation room.
The proposed development involves the demolition of the existing building, which will be replaced with the purpose-built facility.
“The proposed development comprises a single-storey building incorporating an architecturally designed front facade, which is sympathetic to the scale of surrounding commercial and residential amenity,” the DA says.
However, the increase in size has caused concern for the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy (DCHDE), who own a property next to the medical practice.
In its submission, DCHDE said it was not opposed to the redevelopment of the medical centre, but said the impact on the adjoining lots had not been “adequately assessed”.
“The proposed development will result in an increase in the intensity of the use which will impact the adjoining residential uses,” the submission says.
It said the development would expand outside the footprint of the existing building, towards the department’s property.
The submission calls for the application to demonstrate how they intend to mitigate the impact of the development during demolition and construction and how an increase in people when it is operating could impact surrounding properties.
The Kirwan Family Practice closed permanently on December 24, 2020 after the doctor retired.
Submissions on the development close on October 20.