Longueville Private Hospital is part of Macquarie Health Corporation. The hospital specialises in acute medical, gerontology, transitional non-weight bearing patients and palliative care.
Macquarie Health Corporation operates 12 Private Hospitals.
Longueville Private Hospital is located at 43 – 47 Kenneth Street, Longueville.
The hospital operations are split between the hospital buildings at 45 – 47 Kenneth Street Longueville and a dwelling house at 43 Kenneth Street Longuveille that has been converted into offices and patient support facilities.
Macquarie Health Corporation purchased the building in 2014 and, in 2015, lodged an application to change the existing residential use at 43 Kenneth Street into offices and ancillary support.
The change to existing use DA was heard by IHAP (now known as the Lane Cove Local Planning Panel). The Lane Cove Local Planning Panel approved the DA with the following conditions:
“The hospital to be limited to a maximum of 40 licensed beds, and a maximum of 45 equivalent full-time staff at 35 hours per week each, plus two visiting physiotherapists. The full-time equivalent may comprise staff working part-time, or broken hours, or casual shifts. This is to ensure the applicant/operators assurance that this consent does not constitute an intensification of the hospital use and consequent impacts on the locality and nearby residents.
The existing garage on No.43 Kenneth St is to be permanently maintained and used every day and night for the parking of two hospital staff cars.”
DA 72/2023 – Longueville Private Hospital Expanison Plans
DA72/2023 has been lodged requesting development consent to make alterations and additions to the existing private hospital.
The proposal comprises:
- 2,412.9 m² GFA
- 1 additional room (1 bed) on the lower ground level
- 18 additional rooms (19 beds) on the first floor
- Rehabilitation gym
- Hydrotherapy pool
- 4 at-grade car parking spaces including 1 accessible space •
- 1 shared ambulance bay/service vehicle bay
- The existing driveways on the Christina Street and Lorna Leigh Lane frontages for the Hospital will be retained.
- The existing driveway on Lorna Leigh Lane frontage for the Wellness Centre will be removed.
In addition to the existing 22 rooms (29 beds), the proposed addition will result in a total of 30 rooms (48 beds). The proposed development will have up to 4 registered medical practitioners and 12 employees on the site at any one time.
The Longueville (NSW) Residents Association Inc (LRA) has lodged a letter of objection which includes the following concerns:
Floor Space Ratio
The town planners Clause 4.6 variation document notes that the FSR is being exceeded
Landscaped Area
The LRA submits the proposed development does not comply with the 35% landscaped area control.
Bulk and Scale
The LRA submits the proposed development has a bulk and scale that is not consistent or sympathetic with the surrounding developments.
Carparking
The LRA submits the following:
“The proposed development will provide for 4 onsite parking spaces inclusive on 1 disabled space. The LCDCP states that a 48-bed hospital with 4 registered medical practitioners and 12 employees requires a total of 26 car spaces. This means the proposed development will be deficient 22 spaces or 85% below the required number under the DCP. As stated earlier, whilst council may have some discretion on such items, being deficient by 85% is not acceptable by any standard. Council and the applicant would be aware of the shortage of on-street parking along Kenneth Street.
The demand for on street parking can be attributed to the private hospital and also to: a. Users of the two tennis clubs and KSO located in the same street b. Residents and Visitors c. Longueville Sporting Club aka The Diddy which draws large numbers to its venue most nights and especially on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays With the proposed expansion of Longueville Private Hospital (LPH) and lack of onsite parking proposed, the situation will become unbearable for local residents in Kenneth and surrounding streets. In our opinion, at a minimum there should be 12 onsite car spaces provided by (LPH). The lack of public transport options to the site will mean that the vast majority of the visits to and from LPH will be by motor vehicle. As such, it is crucial that adequate onsite parking be provided to residents, staff, and visitors.”
Privacy and Amenity
The LRA submits the proposed development will comprise a two-level structure with privacy impacts on surrounding homes from the first level. At a minimum privacy screen should be installed on all external windows that have the capacity to look into residents’ homes and yards. The over-shadowing over Kenneth Street at 3 pm is quite pronounced and reduces the amenity of the streetscape and neighbourhood.
The LRA submission includes the following statement:
“Perhaps a lower-intensity proposal would be more acceptable and would be more reflective of the amenity and character of the street and neighbourhood.”
How is the Site Zoned?
The site is zoned R2 Low-Density Residential pursuant to Lane Cove Local Environmental Plan 2009. In the Lane Cove LEP R2 zone, health services facilities (such as hospitals) are prohibited. This prohibition is overridden by Division 10 of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Transport and Infrastructure) 2021. Pursuant to clause 2.60(1), development for the purpose of health services facilities may be carried out by any person with consent on land in a prescribed zone. The R2 Density Residential zone is a prescribed zone for the purpose of this clause.
It is noted in The Statement of Environment Effects (SEE) “The increase in bed numbers will meet a clear demand for private patient beds within the Lane Cove area.”
Even though this statement is repeated numerous times in the SEE there is no evidence provided to support the statement. The SEE also does not refer to the multi-million dollar Greenwich Hospital upgrade.
Traffic Report
ITC noticed that the traffic report makes the following statement in relation to bus services:
“The site is well located for public bus services. The nearest bus stop is located 20m to the south of the Hospital on Kenneth Street. The bus stop is serviced by bus route no. 261(Lane Cove to City King Street Wharf via Longueville) with a 20-minute frequency during peak hours. This bus route also links the site to train services at Wynyard and North Sydney Stations and ferry services at King Street Wharf.”
Bus Services 261 does not operate on a Sunday. Kenneth Street Longueville is busy on a Sunday due to visitors and locals using the Kingsford Smith Oval, the Longueville Tennis Club and The Diddy. Street Parking is at a premium on the weekend, which could also be peak visiting time for relatives and friends of patients at the Longueville Private Hospital.
What Are the Next Steps?
Comments can be submitted on the proposal until 27 July 2023. Comments can be submitted by email, and you should quote DA72/2023. Email your comments to [email protected].
Macquarie Health
Macquarie Health noted they need to expand the hospital becuase
- Rehab & Medical Hospital is essential to the community’s longevity and supports the public health system. We are operating close to full capacity. We are planning renovations needed to provide more private accommodation and increased rehabilitation facilities.
- Their inpatient rehabilitation patient’s average age is 78 years old, the average length of stay is 14 days. Trends suggest that the age and length of stay will continue to increase.
- Demand has increased sharply with Greenwich Private Hospital and Hirondelle Private Hospital (Chatswood) stopping their inpatient rehabilitation services, taking away many beds from the system.
- They are currently a 38-bed hospital and seeking to increase this to 48-beds.
- Almost all new beds will be in a private room, via a new 1st level to the main building. Private rooms are needed in modern hospitals to improve infection control, meet the expectations of the privately insured & provide privacy to patients and their guests.
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