Special Feature: Council again votes down Harvey Norman's head office move

RetailBiz for Wednesday 30 April 2014 with Patrick Avenell

Harvey Norman’s plans to move its head office from Homebush to Macquarie Park appears dead after the City of Ryde Council again voted unanimously to reject the plans.

Harvey Norman originally submitted plans for a new head office complex, retail store, hotel and residential area in March 2013. That original plan was ruled against by the Council after an unfavourable review by SJP Planning said the development would run counter to the Council’s goal of a largely commercial Macquarie Park area with employment opportunities.

While the main stumbling block continued to be Harvey Norman’s plans for a residential development, the publicly listed retailer persisted with this as a feature of its plans during the appeals stage, resulting in another strike against the proposal.

Following the original decision against this development, representatives from Harvey Norman, including chairman Gerry Harvey, met with Councillors in an attempt to change their minds. Sources say, however, that no-one from the company was at the Council meeting on 22 April 2014 that again dismissed the application.

The Minutes for that meeting state that, “The need for the current planning framework applying to Macquarie Park Corridor to be retained to protect employment lands that is strategically important to the economic viability of the state”.

“Inclusion of residential uses within the commercial core fails to consider the holistic strategic plan for Macquarie Park Corridor and will set a precedent for future proposals in the corridor.”

The original proposal for the new head office was prepared by architecture firm Allen Jack + Cottier and included a new 12-storey commercial tower atop the franchisor’s existing Domayne store at 31-35 Epping Road. A further two hectares of development incorporating 29-31 Epping Road and 111 Wicks Road would have included an adjacent 6-storey commercial building next to the Domayne, at the current site of a smash repairs business, a Stamford hotel and an apartment complex.

Despite Harvey Norman’s reiteration that this proposal had the potential to bring nearly 900 jobs to the area, the Council again asserted that it was inconsistent with a 2011 document, entitled City of Cities: A Plan for Sydney’s Future, which makes clear that Ryde Local Planning sees the “primary purpose” of this corridor being for “for the employment and economic functions”.

Ryde Council believes that allowing Harvey Norman to include residences, even with the injection of new employment opportunities, would be too deep a precedent to set.

In an unusual step, one described as “amazing” by an insider close to the decision, the Councillors unanimously voted to issue a media release announcing Harvey Norman’s proposal defeat and to reaffirm the Council’s position.

The Council Minutes state the intention to “issue a press release that reinforces Council’s position to maintain and protect Macquarie Park as a significant local, state and national specialist commercial centre and that Council will continue to reject the intrusion of residential development in the commercial core”.

How The Story Unfolded

Harvey Norman lobbying Ryde Council to develop new corporate headquarters
(Monday 18 March 2013)

Harvey Norman Limited plans on moving its headquarters from Homebush to a newly constructed, state-of-the-art facility in North Ryde, on top of the company’s existing Domayne outlet.

The company, which operates the Harvey Norman, Domayne and Joyce Mayne network of franchised and company owned stores, has applied to Ryde Council to construct three new buildings, including a Stamford Hotel, in Macquarie Park, near the ‘North Ryde Station Precinct’.

Should the proposals be successful, Harvey Norman’s new corporate head office would be located at a 12-storey commercial office tower above the Domayne store and a 6-storey commercial building at the site next to the Domayne store, currently occupied by a panel beater business called North Ryde Smash Repairs.

Why Harvey Norman failed to gain approval for new Ryde head office development
(29 October 2013)

The plan to move Harvey Norman’s corporate head office to Macquarie Park, in Sydney’s northwest, has been interrupted by City of Ryde Council declining to support the planning proposal for the block of land earmarked for development.

SJP Planning, [an contractor hired by the Council to consult on the proposal], recommended to the Council that the development not proceed because Harvey Norman’s proposal to build residential apartments does not align with the Council’s stated goal for the precinct, which is as an economic hub with employment opportunities.

Harvey Norman’s head office move appears dead after Council again votes it down
(Friday 25 April 2014)

Harvey Norman’s plans to move its head office from Homebush to Macquarie Park appears dead after the City of Ryde Council again voted unanimously to reject the plans.