Flying High in Bondi
BY CAROLINE WAGNER
Proposed high rises in West Bondi have caused controversy for exceeding the existing height restrictions.
The residential towers, which will be developed by Stargate Property Group, will each be 38m high. They will be located at 194-214 Oxford St and 2 Nelson Street.
Waverley Council’s Local Environmental Plan 2012 (LEP) states that the buildings cannot be higher than 15m, though a proposal to loosen the restrictions has been lodged with the council.
Waverley Councillor Paula Masselos called the project “way over height… certainly in breach of the LEP, big time. If [the development] goes ahead, the LEP will have to be changed … to accommodate it.”
“The community certainly feels that [the buildings] are inappropriate and will create all sorts of issues, including traffic congestion, issues with parking and pedestrian safety. In the drawings I’ve seen it’s a very tall, fat building, which is very inappropriate for those sites.”
Community group Save West Bondi Junction raised concerns that the proposal would be exempt from the parameters of the current design process.
“A planning proposal has been submitted, and the analysis by council will probably be coming to our December council meeting. It will be going to the State Government for assessment,” Councillor Masselos said.
Waverley Mayor Sally Betts said that “If it did come [to council] it would not be for any approval … council will see if there is any merit. The State Government is the consent authority.”
“If there is any merit then the State Government will arrange for a community consultation, which will happen sometime in 2016,” Mayor Betts said.
The Waverley Council meeting will be held on the 15th of December.
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