Brisbane City Council will assess a nine-storey hotel on the city’s river bank without seeking public consultation, despite it being five storeys higher than its own planning scheme allowed.
Evaluating Artemus’s new plans for Howard Smith Wharves as “code” rather than “impact” assessable removes the requirement for public consultation, meaning the council will be able to expedite the approval process.
In an assessment report submitted to the council on developer Artemus’s behalf, town planning firm Urbis notes the hotel site has a height limit of four storeys or 17 metres, whichever was less.
Render of the proposed nine-storey hotel at Howard Smith Wharves, submitted to Brisbane City Council this week.Credit: Artemus
“This proposal seeks a building height of nine storeys and 36 metres, and therefore exceeds the requirements,” Urbis says.
A spokeswoman for the LNP administration said the council’s independent planning officers had deemed proposal code assessable because the level of assessment was based on land use, not building height.
“Council will assess the building height, considering public benefit, built form as well as the context of the site and its landscape,” she said.
While they would not be sought, the spokeswoman said public submissions about the development could still be made and would be “considered by council as part of the assessment”.
Planning documents submitted to the council show Artemus was talked down from 12 storeys during pre-lodgement meetings with council planning officers.
In its assessment report, Urbis points to the nearby Crystalbrook Vincent Hotel, in the shadow of the Story Bridge, as “evidence that the precinct can successfully accommodate buildings of such scale to the top of cliffs”.
