Rozelle Village rejected

The proposed Rozelle Village development at the old Balmain Tigers site has now been rejected for a third time.

The complex was to contain 247 apartments across two towers of 20 and 24 storeys, plus the redeveloped Balmain Leagues Club and a retail section.

The Department of Planning and Infrastructure previously recommended the development be refused, primarily due to the adverse impact on Victoria Road traffic and the movement of buses along Darling Street.

Declaring that “there has been no workable solution provided by the proponent to overcome the traffic and transport issues” posed by the development, the independent Planning and Assessment Commission determined to reject the developer’s application.

Rozelle Village managing director Ian Roberts said he was extremely disappointed with the decision, having revised the project three times in response to the demands of government and the local council.

The Department of Planning and Infrastructure noted in its report that “the local community was very vocal, both for and against, this project”. It received more than 12,500 responses to the final ‘preferred project report’, 42 per cent of which were in support.

The fate of the leagues club and the site is now unclear. Mr Roberts said Rozelle Village has “no immediate alternate plans for the redevelopment of the site”. He previously told City News that towers of fewer than 20 storeys would be economically unfeasible and would not proceed.

Leichhardt Mayor Darcy Byrne says the developer must now recognise that only a scaled-back proposal will ever be approved.