A large site in Adelaide’s inner southwest has been rezoned, paving the way for taller housing developments of up to four storeys.
The state government officially approved the Leader St Bakery code amendment at Forestville, proposed by the land owners Harmony Forestville nearly four years ago.
A single-level building on the site is currently leased to Quality Bakers Australia – a subsidiary company of Goodman Fielder – who use it as a manufacturing facility and bakery.
The 7700 sqm site fronting Leader St is now zoned for new buildings of up to four levels and 18.5m in height, instead of the current one-storey building limit.
It is opposite the 3.6ha former Le Cornu site, where a $250m housing and food-focused retail development is taking place.
The approval rezoned the site from an Established Neighbourhood Zone to an Urban Neighbourhood Zone, to encourage medium- to high-density residential dwelling redevelopments.
Any development proposals above four storeys will be classified as ‘restricted’, making it harder for those redevelopment proposals to receive approval, the state government said.
The site is located near shops, services and transport links including tramline network and the Flinders and Seaford Railway Lines, making it an attractive locations for future residential developments.
The neighbourhood is described as a low-density residential zone, which encourages predominantly single-storey dwellings on land with a minium site area of 550 or 800 sqm.
Harmony Forestville initially proposed a five-storey building limit, but this was changed after community protest.
Planning Minister Nick Champion said the change struck the “right balance” between growth and community expectations.
“(It’s) setting a benchmark for responsible development across South Australia,” he said.
The site was acquired in September 2008 for $4.4m.
It has been used for commercial purposes since the 1920s before bakery operations expanded across the whole lot by the mid-1960s.
Bakery operations have now outgrown the available land area and the capacity of neighbouring public infrastructure.
Planning documents state the industrial commercial bakery was no longer compatible with the established residential area.
It has visible grain silo tanks, service infrastructure, numerous crossovers, roller doors, loading docks and large blank walls.
Goodman Fielder – which employs more than 100 workers at the site – continues to operate and has an existing lease agreement for the short-medium term.
To ensure the site was suitable for residential developments, Harmony Forestville consulted key stakeholders and carried out several targeted studies including traffic impact assessments, heritage and interface investigations.
Key stakeholders including Adelaide Airport, the Department of Infrastructure and Transport, the Environment Protection Authority and SA Housing Authority were consulted by Harmony Forestville during the proposal process
Public consultation ended on December 15, 2023 but was only implemented in the planning code this week.