Gurney Drive, the popular seafront area within George Town in Penang, is in danger of losing its charms, for a series of high-rise development have been earmarked for the area.

Residents living in the vicinity, and and political leaders as well, are calling on the state government to put a halt to several projects there.

DAP Pulau Tikus assemblyperson Yap Soo Huey today called on the state government and the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) to withhold approval for any further highrise development in the locality.

Yap said the authorities should withhold development until a comprehensive study is done on the full stretch of Gurney Drive, instead of just approving projects on an ad hoc basis.

She said the results of this study should be given adequate recognition and used to design a masterplan for the area.

“The masterplan should include making full use of the reclaimed land along Gurney Drive to address existing needs and problems,” Yap ( photo ) said at a press conference.

“The development next to Sunrise Tower, at Corner Club and any proposed highrise development in the area, should be put on hold,” she added.

Yap said the Penang government and MBPP have the opportunity to rectify the above problems when the full stretch of the waters immediately off Gurney Drive become reclaimed land as part of a project under Eastern & Oriental Bhd.

As part of the agreement for the project, dubbed Seri Tanjung Pinang 2, 110 acres of land will be reclaimed off Gurney Drive and surrendered to the state government.

A group of residents in Gurney Drive have also protested against a 20-storey development planned in their area.

The group lamented on congestion in the area, which is already loaded with several high-rise buildings, including the Sunrise Tower, a commercial and residential block, a popular hawker centre and Gurney Plaza.

Access for residents is narrow service road

They complained that their residential area can only be accessed from a narrow service road.

Yap said the 20-storey block addition to the Sunrise Tower is only one of a series of highrise developments coming up in the Gurney Drive area.

“Residents at the other end of Gurney Drive, near longtime establishment Corner Club, have also received notice about an impending development involving the relocation of the club for the development of a 41-storey hotel at the site.

“In the middle of Gurney Drive, SP Setia Bhd subsidiary Eco-Meridian has received permission to build Setia V Residences, comprising two blocks of 43 and 48 floors, which will be over and above the density limit,” she added.

“Eco-Meridian was granted the right to build above the density limit as part of the agreement between Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang (the former MBPP) and SP Setia Bhd,” she said.

Yap said SP Setia was granted the right to build 1,500 residential units above the existing density limit over a 30-year period in exchange for constructing the Subterranean Penang International Convention and Exhibition (sPICE) Centre in Bayan Baru.

As for the Setia V Residences plot, the company would have been allowed to build only 50 units, but with the increase, it will build an additional 170 units, thereby making the total four times more than the original 50 units

“These developments are coming in even though there are serious problems existing in Gurney Drive that have yet to be resolved.

“Many restaurants and hawker centres along Gurney Drive are actually operating from residential plots,” Yap noted.

“Even though there have been commercial activities along Gurney Drive for many years, the council still has not taken any initiative to make the area suitable for commercial activities.

“Many old problems in the area continue to exist, including severe traffic congestion,

lack of parking along the whole stretch of Gurney Drive and flooding problems,” she added.