This is an astounding victory for the residents of Alexandria who rallied, repeatedly, to save the Alex. The drive and persistence of people such as Ben and Michelle Noblet, and countless other Alexandria residents, show that communities can achieve strong outcomes.
It could have been too easy to lie down after the first development proposal for complete demolition and a four-storey apartment block was rejected, and say “job done”. But developers are persistent beasts.
Locals rallied again to reject the even more bizarre seven-storey proposal, proving that Alexandrians are prepared to fight hard for what they believe in.
The Alexandria Residents’ Action Group congratulates you all for your success today. It’s an Alexandria “Castle” moment – and we hope one of many more to come. Developers were clearly shown how the “vibe” of how Alexandria works!
The community has had success in changing development outcomes, including the altered design of the Mitchell Road Auction Centre site, but winning against a consortium of Property Unit Trust investors to save the Alex is huge.
The Merivale press release document can be accessed at https://alexandriaresidentsactiongroup.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/merivale-saves-the-alex.pdf.
The Alexandria Residents’ Action Group also would like to thank the staff of the City of Sydney, who were able to secure an interim Heritage Order on the Alex and who engaged a legal team to assist us, the residents, at the Land and Environment Court.
We greatly appreciate the legal team’s work with us to have our objections and ideas reformulated to maximise our impact before the court, and the recognition that objections from communities like ours cannot be merely brushed aside, as if coming from an anti-development ratbag fringe.
Justin Hemmes has set up a website at http://ouralex.com.au that invites those interested in the renovation of the Alex to register for input into the process, as part of community consultation during the design phase for the beer garden area.
According to Ben Noblet, Merivale has committed to not over-develop the hotel and to keep it family and community friendly. The interior will be restored rather than developed, due to its heritage status.
To learn of the plans for the Alex, Justin will be attending the September meeting of the Alexandria Residents’ Action Group on Wednesday September 14 at the Alexandria Town Hall in Garden Street from 7pm.
Residents have been told that renovations will take between six and eight weeks from mid-September to complete, so look forward to the re-opening of this iconic landmark.
