45 Kuroki Street, Penshurst NSW 2222

This is just another disgraceful money grab by a property investor. When will Council wake up to what these people are doing the amenity of the Heritage Conservation area and the impact that their greed is having on not only the local street scape but also on the amenity and the limited street parking in the McCreas Estate. This 3 bedroom home was purchased by an investor in recent months. Whom without Council permission removed a mature long term tree from the backyard and commenced digging up the yard to install upgraded plumbing also without Council permission. He now want to increase the let from 3 to 5 bedrooms (2 Bdrm granny flat) without either complying with the Heritage Design requirements or without providing any additional off street parking at the expense of the other residents. This is a mirror of what another investor is doing directly acreoss the street at number 47. So while it might be a nice idea for these greedy investors (who don't live in the area) to make a few more bucks per week where in the hell do they propose the additional at least 11 vehicles, boats, work utes and trailers etc between these two properties that they will be bringing into Princes Street are supposed to park? Also over the holiday periods and weekends when they have visitors where are these people also expected to park? It's about time that Council and our Heritage officers start putting the breaks on this unbridled destruction of McCreas Estate before it becomes just another congested mess of different building designs all built on the cheap that will be the Penshurst slums of the future. If we don't all speak up now against this type of inappropriate development it will be too late for everyone.

I agree with Concerned Resident this is a Heritage estate and this development is not sympathetic with a garden suburb. It is terrible that developers are cutting down so many mature trees and are concreting up gardens. This will devalue the natural, heritage and cultural values, and impact negatively on the overall neighbourhood.

Hi ,
I have lived in the nearby O' Briens Heritage Estate in Hurstville for over 20 years.
I agree with Concerned Resident of
McCraes Heritage estate that this development is not sympathetic with a garden suburb. It is terrible that developers are cutting down so many mature trees and are concreting up gardens. This will devalue the natural, heritage and cultural values, and impact negatively on the overall neighbourhood..

AT PRESENT concerned Residents in O Briens Estate which is within a kilometre of McCraes Estate have successfully voiced their concerns, outlined Heritage Requirements which were NOT MET in a recent application to Council . The Georges River Council declined Application for 15-17 Greenbank Street. Due to Developers not meeting Heritage Guidelines. This has now gone to the Land and Environment Court Proceedings No. 2022/254306 Objection to DA 2021/254306Premises : 15-17 Greenbank Street Hurstville NSW ,
We are meeting with the Land and Environment Court this Friday 16/12/22 at 0930 hours to voice our OBJECTIONS to a Greedy Developer wanting to build x 3 - 3 Storey residences on a site which previously had 1 house.
It would be awesome if ANYONE from McCraes Estate could attend to support us... you are in the same Council as us. it would be greatly appreciated, and I believe would help your own cause.
As a group of concerned residents, we managed to get enough signatures to send to Council to voice our objections. Council listened to us,

I for one am sick of OVER Development inHeritage Estates.

Tired Feed-up Resident.

Regarding the application at 45 Kuroki Street for what is jokingly being referred to as a "grannt flat". Firstly I would like to point out that treditionally granny flats have been small one bedroom dwellings that have been for the exclusive use of elderly or other relatives of the resident home owner. They were never intended to be a back-door to creating higher density developments in residential areas by tax payer funded greedy property investors and developers. So how did these all of a sudden become shoddily built and architecturally unsympathetic two and three bedroom developments become allowed by Council and the Community to be just dumped into backyards in Heritage Conservation area in McCreas Estate? Let alone receive Council permission to remove decades old Jacaranda and other mature trees and plants in order for these remote living investors to commercialise our Conservation Area. Also as pointed out by Concerned Resident where is the provision for adequate off street parking to accommodate all of these additional tenants vehicles. I find astonishing that Council approved an additional 2 bedroom development that will take-up almost the entire backyard as well as the removal of several established mature trees by another greedy remote living landlord from Kogarah right opposite at 47 Kuroki Street without any consideration for either the environment, street scape, the community, amenity of the neighbourhood or the need to provide adequate off street parking for at least another 6 tennant vehicles in a narrow street like Princes Street and the surrounding streets. Now we are confronted with yet another greedy remote living landlord right opposite at 45 Kuroki Street who also wants to remove tress etc for yet anoth two bedroom backyard development. This time requiring additional street parking for at least another 5 tennant vehicles. That will mean at least another 11 steer car spaces in Princes and surrounding streets will be needed to accommodate these additional tennant vehicles. Where dose this end?? These and many other similar developments in the Heritage Conservation area are massively increasing the property densities and placing unsuitable strain on the local infrastructure, while negatively impacting the quality of life and amenity of the fulltime residents and degrading the Heritage value of the entire estate while increasing noise and stress levels. Not to mention the impact on the peaceful enjoyment of life for all of the fulltime residents. Is this what we and Council really want for the future of the McCreas Estate Heritage Conservation area? Because their lack of decisive action to put a stop to these and other types of inappropriate developments in the area would appear to indicate it is. It's about time I think that all residents in McCreas Estate band together in order start to stand up and send Council the message that we have had enough of these types of inappropriate developments robbing us of our quality of life and destroying our local environment just so some greedy people (most of which who are are non-residents) can destroy our area in order to make a few extra bucks. Council needs to understand and act now before more people get so feed up that they just sell their homes to investors and devepers who will quickly commercialise the area and in so doing destroy its Heritage Conservation value. I think it's time for Council and the residents to stand up together to put a stop once and for to these and other types of inappropriate developments including 2 story developments in the Conservation Area. If not then we will all at some point just be forced to sell our homes to property investors and developers (who will quickly destroy the area) and move into a home unit.

STOP NO MORE DEVELOPMENT

A message to Georges River Council and our Ward Councillors in relation to 45 Kuroki Street DA and other inappropriate developments in thr McCreas Estate Heritage Conservation area.
STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP
inappropriate and overdevelopment in McCreas Estate. Hopefully Council a d pur Councillors will here the residents a d get the message this time. Because I think we have all had just about enough of the non-stop assault on our beautiful area by greedy absentee property investors and developers of all types. It shouldn't be left to rate payers in McCreas Estate to have to constantly lead the fight against greedy absentee property investors and developers in order to maintain what is rightfully ours. It's worth noting that if it wasn't for the constant and costly up keep and maintenance of our homes in McCreas Estate that it would more likely resemble some of the other less desirable parts of the Georges River Council LGA. Surely after spending these enormous amounts on our homes in order to maintain and enhance the Heritage value of the area that we should be deserving of some respect and protection from our Council and Councillors wouldn't you think?
After all isn't this why we elect our Ward Councillors? But as usual the greedy needs of the few would seem to take precedence over the fulltime residents. I'd even be happy if one our Ward Councillors would even answer their rate payer funded phones or have the courtesy of returning a call when they say they will and they are all guilty of this poor behaviour. So it's no surprise when as usual the silence from them and our so called Local MP is deafening. If our Councillors and the Council are not prepared to stand up against these constant attacks on our area then perhaps they should just remove the Heritage Conservation orders for McCreas Estate and then we can all turn the place into something similar to the disgraceful Mortdale and Railway Parade redevelopment plan. Because it would appear that this is where we are heading. Between the seemingly non-stop applications for backyard duplexes like the ones at 45 & 47 Kurok Street and large inappropriate 2 story developments in Landsdown anf Kuroki Streets or Commercial bakery's in Railway Parade not to mention the destruction of the Ellen precinct or the high rise high density developments at Penshurst Station currently the residents in the Heritage Conservation area are suffering from the death of a thousand cuts all I note without a public word from either our Ward Councillors or so called Local PM. Sadly but not unexpectedly most of the residents in McCreas Estate are either unaware or disinterested in what's has been happening to our area and will likely remain that way until it becomes either too late to do anything about it or it happens next door to them. Hopefully Council and maybe even our Ward Councillors (some of which I am sure do not possess the power of speech) will start to stand up publicly and fight to maintain the Heritage Conservation value of the area which is what we pay them to do for us after all or they lift the Heritage orders all together and let us all sell our homes to the highest bidder who wants to build high and medium density in McCreas Estate. Time to take a stand people....

Arthur McCreas Estate

Regarding the proposed investor's "granny flat" at 45 kuroki street. They have already cut down aomg standing mature tree (without Council permission) and have purposefully lect the main house vacant in order to try and hide the lack of off street parking as the investor who owns 47 Kuroki street has done and who is also cutting down a beautiful 30 year old Jacaranda and other trees on the property just so he can aldo increase the number of rental units on the site. Which I might add has been aided and abetted by the Council when they gavecthis guy permission to to so. What a complete disgrace. When will Georges River Council and our Ward Councillors put a stop for once and all to the environmental vandalism and the degradation of our flora in the Heritage Conservation area. This happening on a daily basis right across the entire Estate and Council needs to put a stop to these types of unwanted developments. Hands Off McCreas Estate. I for one are fed up with these self entitled property investors and developers thinking that they can just walk on and destroy what generations of owner occupier's have created and maintained in the Heritage Conservation area just so they can get rich at the residents expense. This crap has to stop..If Council and the areas Councillors want to do something meaningful for the area they could start with protecting the area from these and other types of unwanted developments. They could also do something about eradicating the introduced species that are so destroying peoples homes and the area like the Indian Myna birds who nest in peoples roofs and deficate all over their properties carry all kinds of nasty mites and kill off all of the native dirds. Then they could start to try to encourage our native birds back - that is if there are any trees left for to nest in or will they also be required to rent a si called "granny flat" from an investor or developer???

Dear Greedy Investor
It's always nice to hear from a self entitled greedy investor especially when they don't live in the area and only bought here because they mistakenly thought the residents would notice or care when they tried to destroy the amenity of the area just to satisfy their own greedy tax payer funded wealth creation scheme. Obviously as expected of you and your like you have no defence when confronted with the truth. Could this be why when it is presented that you have to revert to name calling and fantasy as a vain attempt to show everyone just how superior and self important you think you are? How about instead of throwing a temper tantrum that you instead explain to everyone where and how you intend to provide the needed 5 additional off street car parking spaces or when you intend to put back the mature tree that you illegally removed early one morning from the backyard or didn't you think we would notice it missing? Could it be that you just expected to walk in to the area and try an use loop hole to trash our area just so you could make a few extra bucks at the expense of everyone else's amenity in the McRaes Estate, Heritage Conservation area. Come on Greedy Investor where are your explanations to the simple questions that I note a number of our other residents have already asked. I and everyone else will be waiting on anticipation for your answers to the off street parking a tree replanting questions. BTW please feel free to critique my grammar, punctuation and of course spelling as you seem to be a deft hand at criticism which I'm sure all our residents who have also posted will find further amusement.

Well said Resident, I fully agree and support your position on the DA at 45 Kuroki street. These and othet questions in connection with this proposal and similar other in the Conservation Area need to be satisfactorily adressed before it should go ahead. It's not before time that some of our residents start standing up and pushing back on these rental property owners who just want to run rough shot over our community. Keep up the good work.

In respect to the application for a detached second dwelling at 45 Kuroki street which is situated in the middle of the McRaes Estate Heritage Conservation area (HCA). The HCA is an area that has been recognised and valued for its special historical and aesthetic character. Items of heritage significance may include architectural buildings, trees, gardens and kerbs. Any proposed alterations and additions to
properties such as this that have been identified as having heritage conservation significance requires an assessment of the collective nature of buildings and components which contribute to the quality of the area and any impact on the streetscape. Therefore, the design generally needs to be kept consistent with the rest of the dwellings within the HCA and any unsympathetic design may be rejected.
The form of new buildings should compliment the form of original
adjacent Contributory building, particularly when viewed from the street
and the overall character of the Conservation Area. Generally this entails
a double fronted façade with a projecting and a recessive building bay –
often the recessive bay has a verandah front, and pitched roofs to respect
surrounding Contributory items. The historic character of the Conservation Area exhibits a consistency in the
materials, colours and detailing of elements which combined contribute to the special character of the locality.
Additions and new buildings should exhibit in their composition with regard to material and colour selection a harmonious compatibility with materials, colours and textures of adjacent Contributory buildings. The design of alterations and addition and new buildings need to be complimentary with existing dwellings. Anyone wishing to develop land or change the use of a building should make sure the development has appropriate parking facilities. Sufficient, safe and convenient and meets user requirements including
pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles
Safe, easily accessible, does not
obstruct the passage of vehicles or
create traffic conflicts, impact
pedestrians or cyclists and does not
result in detrimental effects to adjoining
or nearby properties. It would appear just based on the aforementioned basics this proposal falls entirely short of requirements and therefore Council should approve it in its current form or until appropriately complementary build design that also fits in the Heritage requirements for street scape, colour and form as well as adequate off street parking can be provided on the site.

Many good points have been raised on connection with the proposed property development at 45 Kuroki Street. I think one important factor is the issues about density, overlooking, complimentary design to the existing dwelling and other properties in the area as well as the street scape. The issues that have been raised about adequate off street parking are also valid. Carparking is to be provided on site and:
a. Needs to cater for the needs of residents and their visitors.
b. It must not visually dominate the
streetscape, and
c. enable the safe and efficient
movement of vehicles and pedestrians.
Another important point it would seem that no one has as yet had raised is that as the owner is a non-resident seeking to increase the density on the site in order to run a property business therefore shouldn't he be treated as property developer and be subject to the same building and Council requirements as another property developer, in regards to green space design and density.

In respect to the proposed addition of yet another backyard duplex by another property developer at 45 Kuroki Street Penshurst. I think it important for residents and Council to draw the lens back in order to look more broadly at the totality of what is happening in Kuroki and Princes streets which are already mirroring some of the worse aspects of some of other inner city Council's street parking problems in this case primarily and solely being caused by property investors and developers. For relevance the properties at numbers 45, 49, 51, 54 and 56 (56 is currently vacant and another 5 bedroom rental) are already rentals at this end of the street with multiple tennant vehicles already taking up most (if not all) of the available street parking a night and weekends in both Kuroki and Princes streets due to an absence of adequate off-street parking being provided by these groups for their tennants. Add to this the growing number of non residents who are parking buses, business and private vehicles in these streets usually after hours to avoid Council Rangers and this has already become a systematic and growing problem for the residents. For example one of the tennants at 49 Kuroki street runs a limousine hire business out of the property which in itself account's for 4 on street parking spaces while other tenants also have both private and trade vehicles taking up the street parking due to an absence of off-street parking. There is a large truck that is constantly parked after hours and at weekends in front of 51 Kuroki Street that is owned by a non-resident from Mortdale who drives his own car to pick up his truck at 6:00 am each day before Council Rangers start work and dumps it back in the street after Council closes each day and which Council has been aware for sometime but to date have been unable to have removed from the street. These streets were never intended to host multiple disparate groups of people requiring off-street parking let alone running businesses from these properties they were designed for owner occupier residents. There is simply is a complete lack of adequate off-street parking being provided by these investors and property developers to accommodate the needs of their tennants which is directly and adversely impacting other local owner occupier's and their families. It is already so bad that on weekends and holidays residents dare not move their vehicles to go shopping or visiting relatives for fear of loosing parking. Add to this Council's recent approval for a developer to build a duplex in the rear of 47 Kuroki Street that in itself will require a minimum of and additional 6 on-street parking spaces because the developer wasn't required to provide any off-street parking. Emboldened by this now another developer at 45 Kuroki Street also wants to put a duplex in the backyard in order to increase his rental by circa 50% without provision for any off-street parking and requiring another non existent 5 off-street parking spaces. Just between these two neighbouring properties the community is going to be expected to forego a minimum of 11 on-street parking spaces that simply do not exist. These developers are also by stealth massively increasing the property densities in the area and severely degrading not only the amenity but also adding entirely unnecessary levels of increased stress and disadvantage to the residents who have spend a fortune of there own money ongoingly to improve and maintain the Heritage Conservation value of the Estate. Also what is Council doing to force these developers compliance with Heritage Orders for the design of these duplex developments as well as requiring adequate provision for additional garbage removal, fire safety controls as well as the upgrading of stormwater, sewerage and other matters in order to accommodate these developments. Further what is Council doing to combat the growing environmental vandals these and other developers are routinely carrying out across the Estate? Where is the requirement to provide adequate green apace around their developments? Whay is Council doing to stop these developers and others from continuing to remove 30 year old trees that not only provide shade and beauty to the area but also provide a green canopy that helps reduce heat and provides a suitable habitat for birds and other local wildlife. Surely these developers and others have heard about global warming or in their minds does their need to make money conveniently take precedence over all else. It will take 20 - 30 years to replace the tree that this developer has already illegally removed from 45 Kuroki street not to mention the beautiful mature Jacaranda and other plantings that the developer at 47 was allowed to remove. Trees and a green canopy are one of our best protections from heat banking and to offset carbon. With these and other current DAs involving the removal of mature trees if Council doesn't do something and fast the garden suburb will soon become a hot congested slum. This duplex development at 45 Kuroki Street must not be allowed to be approved in its current form and both adequate off-street parking, replacement of the mature trees that were removed as well as compliance with both the Heritage controls (that everyone else has to comply with) as well as the upgrading of stormwater, garbage, sewerage, fire and other controls need to be satisfactorily addressed to the Council and the Communities satisfaction prior to proceeding. Further any changes to the design etc should also require further neighbour notification.