THE Nicolopoulos family accept progress, and development, even if it is next to their backyard but they are opposed to the size of a recent 80-bed motel proposal.
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Con and Ekatirini Nicolopoulos built their home in Worrowing Heights 34 years ago in an area where there was little else at the time.
In the past two years they have watched the Bayswood housing estate grow nearby and are now watching the Woolworths shopping centre take shape across the road from their family home.
Mr Nicolopoulos does not oppose developments that change his surrounding environment; he welcomes sensible development.
However, he does not believe an 80-bed motel with manager’s residence, swimming pool and tennis courts is sensible in what is becoming a populated residential area.
His main concerns are noise, drainage, privacy and light.
The entrance to the development will be a few metres from his kitchen and lounge room and while a noise attenuation wall is a condition on the development application Mr Nicolopoulos has little detail about it and no idea if it will work.
“I understand progress but we are going to have trucks and traffic coming and going at all hours of the day during the building stage,” he said.
“Then once it’s complete we will have buses, delivery vehicles and other traffic coming and going right next to our house.
“I’ve heard about this wall to stop the noise, but how high will it be? How do we know if it’s going to work?”
Mr Nicolopoulos said he was also worried about privacy with one large shed on the land already overlooking his property.
One of his main concerns was drainage as his property already suffers from flooding.
His son Nick Nicolopoulos also believed the development was too large for the site.
“None of us are against it but for the size of the land it seems a bit excessive,” he said.
“They are proposing a number of strategies to address some of the issues which may or may not work.
“There is currently a large issue with runoff. In storms the whole place gets flooded.
“That is the sort of thing that is difficult to manage after strategies have been put in place.
“We want to make sure it’s done right from the start, which is where communication becomes important.”
Mr Nicolopoulos raised the issue of methods of communication with his elderly parents over the proposal so far.
He believes posting information on a website is not a suitable means of communication with everyone.
“There has been communication but it might not be the right way to communicate with older people,” he said.
“Communication means different things to different people. Communication with the elderly, like my parents, doesn’t mean posting something on a website.
“My parents like face-to-face interaction, like a lot of older people do.
“For someone where English is not the first language they want to be able to see someone and show them their concerns,” he said.
Conditions placed on the development include a noise barrier to be set back a minimum of one metre on the access way and 10 metres on the eastern boundary to accommodate a landscape barrier; a dilapidation report to be provided on the adjoining residences to ensure any damage incurred during construction is addressed; the noise attenuation barrier to be designed and constructed to ensure it provides sound attenuation and an attractive appearance.