Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The residents of the Altitude Apartments in Balfours Way in the Adelaide CBD have approached me because they are absolutely enraged that they may soon find themselves entombed in complete concrete. When these residents bought their apartments at considerable cost, they did so with the understanding that a land management agreement was in place. This restricted any neighbouring apartment buildings in front of Altitude Apartments in Franklin Street to 25 metres. The land management agreement was signed by the developer in 2014. However, the developer for the adjacent development is now proposing a 53-metre tower. Only the Adelaide City Council can approve this.

Residents fear that if this goes ahead it would not only entomb them in concrete but dramatically impact the property values of the apartments that they paid for at extremely valuable prices. Many residents, including retirees, have invested their life savings in these apartments. The residents are not antidevelopment; they just want people to comply with the LMA that was in place when they bought those apartments. Several residents have contacted me and Lucy Hood, who is the Labor candidate in the state seat of Adelaide, and we're working very closely to assist these people in any way that we can. We need to ensure that development is encouraged, while we continue to protect the rights of people who have already chosen the CBD in Adelaide as their home.