The developer of Darwin's new suburb, Lyons, has defended its decision to force residents to install solar hot water tanks on the ground rather than on property roofs.
"It's primarily about aesthetics ... We didn't want to see a suburb that had a whole bunch of roofs with satellite dishes and solar panels and then water tanks, so we've mandated that you can't put the satellite dishes on the roof where they're visible from the street and we've mandated that you had to put the tank on the ground," said Lyons Development Corporation's project director, Geoff Smith.
According to Smith, one resident's concerns about having an application for a water tank on the roof denied has resulted in questions being raised about how seriously the corporation is taking sustainability. Residents are also concerned over a potential increase in energy costs from having to pump hot water upwards rather than letting it flow down to the house naturally.
"Sustainability is not just about greenhouse gases, and it's not just about the environment on its own. It's about economic and social initiatives and there's a whole raft of other things that we've put in place to make us feel that from a sustainability point of view, we've delivered far more than anyone else has in Darwin," he said.
These initiatives include roof eaves having a minimum dimension of 900mm, setting each dwelling back from the boundary to allow ventilation and wind movement and incorporating a Water Sensitive Urban Design into the overall masterplan.
The Lyons Development Corporation, a 700-dwelling urban masterplan development, was created via a joint venture with Defence Housing Australia.
