601 Pacific Highway St Leonards

Rezoning Review of North Sydney LEP 2013

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We found this application for you on the planning authority's website ago. The date it was received by them was not recorded.

(Source: NSW Sydney and Regional Planning Panels, reference 2018SNH069 RR)

16 Comments

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  1. Simon Lai commented

    I object to this planning proposal as there are already too many apartment buildings being built in St Leonards. Increasing the height at this site is unnecessary and would negatively impact liveability. This decision would be motivated purely by greed for money.

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  3. Rosemary Than-Aye commented

    Think its time to slow development in St Leonards the Chinese developers think only of how much money they can make and an increase from 49m to 212m is really excessive. Whilst development can be good but not at the expense of quality of life, sunlight , traffic conjection for the current residents,. Not only do we have increased traffic from more residents where resident car parks open out onto small laneways but many of the streets are becoming short cuts between suburbs with hugely increase traffic. Also some streets such as Albany are already become darkened wind tunnels. What will be the point of having nice cafes and restaurants when we cannot sit outside because there is no sun!

  4. David C commented

    I'm not opposed to expansion and development as it goods for the city and much needed but it needs to be sustainable.

    The amount of development of high rise appartments in St Leonards and the pacific highway corridor down to North Sydney is currently saturated and I have so far not seen any proposals on building out the infrastructure to support this.

    Yes, Crows Nest station is being build out but the train system will not be able to cope with this expansion + the increased traffic flowing from the hills on these lines. On top of this I don't see any new schools being built, or re-developed, to support the increase in population in these areas.

    I also feel that neither Lane Cove and North Sydney councils have shown enough consideration or due diligence in these expansion plans and therefore I feel that all future planning proposals for appartments of over 10 floors in these areas councils should go to the Sydney council for approval and to verify that this growth is sustainable for the infrastructure around it.

  5. David and Bronwyn Wilson commented

    We are in favour of well thought out developments that are set back from the highway, provide lane way access to the streets behind as well as some open spaces with garden and public seating, child care facilities, cafes and boutiques. Having just returned from Chicago where design in architecture is highly regarded we would love to see the same approach here, rather than the ubiquitous high rise that usually mushrooms up to blight the landscape. Its not so much the size of the building, its more the ugliness and vulgarity that we object to. St Leonards has been a neglected area for many years, due to intersecting geographic boundaries and conflicting council policies rather than the nimbyism of the over 70’s that is disrespectfully referred to in an earlier post.

  6. Tony Gribben commented

    Height restrictions should remain until the state government makes adequate provision for education and other community facilities in the area.

  7. Barbara DeGraff commented

    I object to this Planning Proposal because it does nothing to increase employment. Rather it provides less space for jobs as the commercial component is less than the current 14 stories - by a significant margin.

    Further development of residential towers must halt until we understand the impact of the numerous high rise units already under construction. Once these units come online will there a market for such apartments? Will the existing water and sewerage system handle it? Will the narrow streets handle further traffic? Will the necessary supporting infrastructure be in place?

    Increasing the height at this site is unnecessary and would negatively impact liveability further overpowering and overshadowing Crows Nest, Naremburn and Wollstonecraft as well as surrounding communities and suburbs up and down the highway.

    I object to the proposed bulk and scale of the towers as they are do not provide an appropriate transition to the fine grain of Crows Nest streets and will set a dangerous ‘precedent’.

  8. James Favretto commented

    There are a few significant sites in St Leonard’s and Crows Nest, not many, that can take the strain of the required dwellings that a location like this needs to accommodate on top of or next to new/existing train stations so that higher development isn’t needed in the back streets of this locality next to lower density development in streets setback from busy Pacific Highway. This looks like a good one. It’s a uniquely shaped triangular slim site which will provide a different architectural look inherently. Fair enough if the majority of other sites are limited to 18 levels or the like but I think half a dozen dense sites are needed to keep the overall feel of the vast majority of the rest of St Leonards and Crows Nest.

  9. David Cook commented

    Over burdened, jammed public schools with no playground space and too many students. Is that the future for Lower North Shore families? No! It’s actually the present. Plus not enough public sports facilities or space for children to develop beyond the stunted academic opportunity being offered up. These additional population increases through unsustainable high rise approvals is proof the NSW state and local governments are corrupted and ‘owned’ by the faceless property development corporations feeding on our local communities and cashing in on the ‘value’ of the area. I object to this State Governments’ ideology of thoughtless development led by “ the market”. And I object to this high rise proposal in St Leonard’s. There is no market, just an oligopoly of unaccountable developers producing the same product; with no consequences. A more proactive planned approach is needed that puts developers last in decision making and makes them accountable to the existing communities. I call on voters to remove this Liberal party at the next election, simply because neither party can be left in power for more than 2 terms. You have to remove them, they become lazy, deaf, corrupt and run out of ideas. .

  10. Edward Re commented

    I object to the redevelopment of 601 Pacific Highway.
    This building is one of the few that is a graceful, and elegant landmark. It would be a real shame to knock it down.
    It's an ecological disaster to rebuild an existing high density building. There must be lots of other places in St Leonards that could be redeveloped that is now lower density, and a better candidate.
    We need to preserve commercial area. Any conversion to apartments is increasing the ghetto-isation of the St Leonards precinct.
    Finally, making the building any higher will increase the shadowing, and wind tunnel effect in the area.
    Mayor Jilly Gibson, the Nth Sydney Council "Community FIrst" group, and the state NSW Liberals should be made to pay at the next elections.

  11. Rohan Higgins commented

    The over development currently in planning for St Leonards, Crows Nest, Lane Cove, etc is quickly becoming a major election point for the State Government. The infrastructure in these areas simply cannot cope with the anticipated expansion.

    As a local resident, my 18 floor apartment block will be dwarfed by the proposed 50 story developments within a few hundred metres casting shadows and interrupting airflows...let alone the hit to property values.

    This craziness must stop...and quickly. I strenuously oppose this development....and I vote!

  12. Heidi Winney commented

    I also object to the redevelopment of 601 Pacific Highway. It is one of the very, very few attractive buildings left - all the rest are totally devoid of architectural value. This building does not need knocking down, refurbishing perhaps. The wind tunnel effect in this area will become even worse than it is now as will the overshadowing. A 50 story building? Why? We definitely don't need it.
    There are a number of commercial office spaces in the St Leonards right now that are empty and have been so for some time. Exactly which companies are going to move in there with all the space that will become available? The developers should look at other areas and leave attractive buildings alone. Why does everything have to look the same - boxes and more boxes!

  13. Wendy Suen commented

    Developments like this for 601 Pacific Highway and the surrounding sites do not create community. They gut them. The over-densification of the St Leonards precinct with more residential housing do not create sustainable jobs in the area. St Leonards will become a bigger commuter hub than it already is. What attraction is there to create future employment here? Why should employers bring their businesses here? The lack of green space (other than the heritage listed cemetery and the handkerchief-sized pieces of grass near St Leonards station and Hume Street) do not provide people with any access to nature. The St Leonards precinct is sadly lacking in parkland now. Pot plants on verandahs in sky-high towers are hardly the same. Children will grow up without knowing what it feels like to have grass beneath their feet. And be taught in classrooms in the sky. Oh, but no provision is made for any additional desperately needed schools. Infrastructure such as comprehensive primary and high schools and bigger parks and public spaces need to be planned first. That is what should be prioritised. 200m+ towers come a poor second.

  14. Tony Gribben commented

    Well said Wendy. Agree 100%.

  15. Peter commented

    Correct Wendy but the comment about green is plain wrong. The dream of the 1/4 acre block is over. St Leonard’s is prime for development as it is really one of the perfect places to live. Parks, public transport(+ future metro), the road network, proximity to the city and the list goes on. If we can’t to try and reign in house prices and maintain a quality of life for all, then we need apartments. It is simply irresponsible and not fair to force everyone to move out to Oran Park. Nobody likes change, especially when it effects them (I.e inner west councils complaints about westconex, everyone uses the m4 and parra road so let them make it better and easier for all of Sydney).
    Local councils can do a lot better with better planning and bringing up the standard of schools and other necessities prior to densification.
    Although councils are under staffed and should always look at the bigger picture/the grand plan/a Sydney +20 years from now, and not submit to those who complain about high rise development and cutting down a tree in someone’s backyard.
    Provide constructive feedback and council will listen (hopefully).

  16. James Lee commented

    Great comment, Wendy. Could the council please listen to its residents (who have voted them in) and prioritise livability over pressures/temptations from developers.

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