The guidelines are clear.
Mark Silcocks, the Councillor of Woollahra says that building structures inside the Double Bay shopping centre and town, should not be higher than 14.7 meters (4 stories), aside from some corner locales, and the Intercontinental hotel.
However the Woollahra Municipal Council has given the go-ahead as far as possible, provoking different designers to offer recommendations for structures higher than four stories.
A $25.4 million proposal for 28-34 Cross Street proposes a six-story apartment building with ground floor shops that “draws on the store culture and European town climate of Double Bay”.
“It is viewed that choices like these go against Mark Silcocks standard in this piece of Cross Street to such an extent that it annihilates the suburb’s character and the towns look and feel.
Taller buildings will impact the beautiful views and amenity of people in and around Double Bay – he said.
Its current low-rise aspect is what gives it its unique village character inviting feel.
Turning it into another high rise suburb full of apartments will destroy the very thing that makes it special.
As it lacks public transport links, and parking areas, an increase in residents could cause issues.
Council said there had been sufficient planning to approve building proposals that exceed height limits, that would greatly contribute to the economic life and vitality of Double Bay.
The proposal for 28-34 Cross Street will be determined by the Woollahra Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel.
Following the refurbishment of Westfield Bondi Junction, Double Bay experienced a loss of foot traffic, and vacancy rates of up to 13 per cent, lending itself to improve itself with a number of new initiatives one being the:
a) Proposed redevelopment of a council car park site valued at $120 million into a cinema complex with about 100 apartments.
This is likely to exceed Double Bay’s height limits.
The spokesman said the council had commissioned a study in 2015 to determine future development in Double Bay, including “opportunities for more diverse housing”, but no decisions have been made regarding increased height limits.
Cr Silcocks said there had not been appropriate counsel with the local community about building controls for Double Bay.
“There has been no firm overall proposal, no community consultation, no Council debate and no decision,” he said. “In the meantime excessive DAs keep being submitted.
“The past council saw fit, out of the blue, to support a few of these DAs despite the fact that they breached the controls, conflicted with the council staff proposals and overlooked the protests of numerous occupants and residents in the area.”
His interests are repeated by Malcolm Young, the VP of the Double Bay Residents Association, who said the suburb’s town character was under danger.
“Views will be destroyed including harbour views across the Centre from the surrounding amphitheatre,” he said. “Instead of sunlit streets and lanes with cafes spreading on to those streets and lanes it will become a place of shadow and draughts – essentially Bondi Junction by the harbour.”
Double Bay resident Anthony Tregoning said: “It seems that the council has paid more attention to developers’ desires to maximise their profits than to residents’ concerns to maintain the low-rise village atmosphere.”
“Developers claim they need extra height for a development to be economic, but this is nonsense as it depends how much value is ascribed to the land and how much profit they want to make.”
