$28 million South Sound residential development gets green light

A $28 million apartment and townhouse development has been approved for South Sound Road in George Town.

The Central Planning Authority, at its 23 Aug. meeting, approved the application from Smith Development Ltd. for the project, which comprises 32 apartments, 27 townhouses, four duplexes, 11 pools, two cabanas, two pool houses and a pickleball court on the 5.6-acre site.

One neighbour had objected to the application, claiming it would be detrimental to wildlife, including some protected bird species, on the adjacent Bel Air Duck Pond and land parcel, but the Central Planning Authority said the objector had not provided evidence to support this.

The objector had also queried whether an environmental impact assessment for the area had been carried out. The board, in its response, said this would have fallen within the remit of the National Conservation Council, which, it said, had not asked for any such assessment to be done.

The National Roads Authority carried out a study to determine the effect on traffic of the proposed 67-unit development, which is situated between Bel Air Drive and Old Crewe Road, next to the Bahia project that is already under construction. The NRA determined that there were likely to be 34 additional vehicles added to South Sound Road during the morning rush hour and 42 in the evening rush hour, which it considered to be “minimal to moderate”.

The Department of Environment, in its submission in response to the application, noted that the site is mostly on seasonally flooded mangrove forests. It recommended that stormwater be managed on-site to avoid run-off and prevent the flooding of adjacent properties, and that wetland vegetation be retained where possible to assist with the on-site drainage.

The proposed development is within a low-density residential zoned area.