HERITAGE concerns are being kept in mind as the lodgement of the development application (DA) for the proposed Bathurst Integrated Medical Centre (BIMC) nears.
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Zauner Constructions will be building the six-storey medical facility, should it be approved, and managing director Garry Zauner said the DA is now expected to be lodged in August, 2023.
It comes almost three years after it was publicly revealed that a development consortium was looking to build an integrated medical centre, inclusive of a private hospital, on the former Clancy Motors site in Howick Street.
Mr Zauner said a lot of work has needed to be done to meet the requirements before a DA can be lodged, including some changes to the design.
"As the BIMC is a state significant project, additional design work and consultant reports are required to be produced before the DA can be lodged," he said.
"After working through three reviews with the NSW State Design Review Panel (or SDRP), the BIMC has included changes to the design to reflect the outcome of the SDRP.
"Those changes include a new facade to the car park, increased public open spaces and landscaped gathering areas, and changes to access and public drop off zones, all for the betterment of the project.
"In light of those changes, reports procured in support of the DA all need to be updated to reflect the finalised design, so we have been working with our consultant team on that to date."
The BIMC plans have drawn mixed opinions from the Bathurst community since they were announced in December, 2020.
Some opponents to the project have criticised the height and scale of the proposed building and associated multi-storey car park, and others fear it will not fit in with the Bathurst central business district's heritage streetscape.
Mr Zauner said the heritage concerns have "absolutely" been taken into consideration.
"The BIMC team want to complement Bathurst's heritage and historical architecture to the extent feasible, and while at the same time delivering a world-class medical centre that can offer the best of modern healthcare services to the region," he said.
"We are working with heritage consultants and an experienced design team, who share the same vision.
"The location of the site is well suited to this type of development, as it is located in a part of the Bathurst CBD which is crying out for renewal and has no negative impacts on existing heritage."
Although there has been criticism of the overall plans, there has also been a lot of support for them, with people excited by the prospect of more health services and the potential to liven up the CBD.
"We are humbled and greatly appreciative of the support from the majority of the Bathurst community and most members of the community, even those with concerns, have been behind us on the basis that we're providing significant medical infrastructure required for Bathurst," Mr Zauner said.
Once the DA has been lodged, there will be an opportunity for further public consultation, with that feedback to be considered as part of the approval process.
Should everything go the way the developers hope it will, construction could be under way in 2024.
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Rachel Chamberlain
I have been a journalist at the Western Advocate since 2014.
I have been a journalist at the Western Advocate since 2014.
