Cockle Bay Wharf Redevelopment

As a young Pyrmont resident who walks through the Pyrmont Bridge every
day on my way to work in the CBD, I am very much impressed by the
quality of the proposal of the Cockle Bay development put forward.
I belive it sets a good balance between commercial elements as well as
local community needs. The aesthetics of the development and
landscaping are of high quality and it would blend well with the
surrounding areas.
I am particularly in favour of:
- design behind improved access between the CBD and the Darling
Harbour which the proposal addresses very well
- provision of improved retail and entertainment facilities
- landscaped terrace and green spaces, as proposed would really
enhance the area visually

I am in support of the proposal and hope it goes ahead.

The amended proposed development, fails to address the impact on loss of
visual amenity for private residences all around Darling Harbour.

The sheer height, bulk and position of the tower significant block and
detract from the visual amenity of the city skyline.

For example, the position, height and bulk of the tower will block
views of a Sydney landmark in Sydney Tower. The Goldsbrough building,
with some 600 apartments, will be affected.

The developer has not even bothered to consider the impact of this
tower on the loss of visual amenity and land value of the affected
apartments. Not good enough!

Would the developer show such disregard if it impacted residents to
the city's east in the same way? Not likely.

Darling Harbour is already over-built. Building this massive tower
will not add to the public benefit, it will simply line the
developer's pockets by cramming as much office space in there as they
can get away with.

I have no objection to a low-rise or even mid-rise tower, but
certainly not taller than the existing Darling Park towers.

I understand that developers need to make money, but not to such gross
detriment of the public.

I strongly object to this tower which is nothing more than a money
maker for the developer with all other considerations treated merely
as a nuisance.

Whilst there is some improvement in the envelope of the tower as part of
amended redevelopment of Cockle Bay Wharf (SSD 7684), the revised plan
still has a high tower podium that overshadows the public space of
Darling Harbour and consumes public boardwalk space. The extra
promenade width claimed in the proposal is achieved by encroaching
into the ever reducing bay area. This development is totally
unsuitable for this valuable public space and not in line with the
original plan for Darling Harbor. The set-back for the tower and
podium is much less than for Barangaroo and Harbouside. I cannot see
why the cockle bay redevelopment is given unique concessions to
consume public space which have not be given to Baragaroo and Sofitel
towers.

Darling Harbour is meant to be an oasis in the city for the public,
residents and tourists alike.It is a place of relaxation and activity
a place where people can get together and enjoy the sun, food and
admire a piece of our Australian heritage. The step back building
process has this in mind however for some reason the plot has been
lost and private developers are trying to cash in on the Darling
Harbour experience by building monstrous pillars so close to the
waters edge that endangers the public experience. This building is so
tall and wide and thick that its shadow will affect the sunny aspect
of the area. Its imposing presence will make the open space feeling
seem a thing of the past. Its size and closeness to the walkway area
which is already narrow and a traffic issue for pedestrians and bike
riders alike will make one feel even more clostrophobic.
The walkway area on this side of Darling Harbour is already not coping
with the walkway traffic . The increase in residential dwellers in the
area and ofcourse tourists wishing to visit the Wax museum, Sea life,
cruises etc means that this side has alot of traffic.Also the people
who stop to look at the restaurants all take up extra room on an
already narrow walkway. This building will burden this walkway even
more. It needs to step back and step up in stages to leave an open air
feel and not detract from the heritage aspect of the bridge and wharfs
or detract from the tourist attractions of the wax museum etc Darling
Harbour is not very large and with such impsoing buildings so close
will soon feel like a swamp pond where no sunlight will be available
and people will feel imprisoned by the walls imposing on them.

Darling Harbour is meant to be an oasis in the city for the public,
residents and tourists alike.It is a place of relaxation and activity
a place where people can get together and enjoy the sun, food and
admire a piece of our Australian heritage. The step back building
process has this in mind however for some reason the plot has been
lost and private developers are trying to cash in on the Darling
Harbour experience by building monstrous pillars so close to the
waters edge that endangers the public experience. This building is so
tall and wide and thick that its shadow will affect the sunny aspect
of the area. Its imposing presence will make the open space feeling
seem a thing of the past. Its size and closeness to the walkway area
which is already narrow and a traffic issue for pedestrians and bike
riders alike will make one feel even more clostrophobic.
The walkway area on this side of Darling Harbour is already not coping
with the walkway traffic . The increase in residential dwellers in the
area and ofcourse tourists wishing to visit the Wax museum, Sea life,
cruises etc means that this side has alot of traffic.Also the people
who stop to look at the restaurants all take up extra room on an
already narrow walkway. This building will burden this walkway even
more. It needs to step back and step up in stages to leave an open air
feel and not detract from the heritage aspect of the bridge and wharfs
or detract from the tourist attracions of the wax museum etc Darling
Harbour is not very large and with such impsoing buildings so close
will soon feel like a swamp pond where no sunlight will be available
and people will feel imprisoned by the walls imposing on them.I used
to love to visit this place when I came to Sydney. Please do not
destroy it

Darling Harbour is meant to be an oasis in the city for the public,
residents and tourists alike.It is a place of relaxation and activity
a place where people can get together and enjoy the sun, food and
admire a piece of our Australian heritage. The step back building
process has this in mind however for some reason the plot has been
lost and private developers are trying to cash in on the Darling
Harbour experience by building monstrous pillars so close to the
waters edge that endangers the public experience. This building is so
tall and wide and thick that its shadow will affect the sunny aspect
of the area. Its imposing presence will make the open space feeling
seem a thing of the past. Its size and closeness to the walkway area
which is already narrow and a traffic issue for pedestrians and bike
riders alike will make one feel even more clostrophobic.
The walkway area on this side of Darling Harbour is already not coping
with the walkway traffic . The increase in residential dwellers in the
area and ofcourse tourists wishing to visit the Wax museum, Sea life,
cruises etc means that this side has alot of traffic.Also the people
who stop to look at the restaurants all take up extra room on an
already narrow walkway. This building will burden this walkway even
more. It needs to step back and step up in stages to leave an open air
feel and not detract from the heritage aspect of the bridge and wharfs
or detract from the tourist attractions of the wax museum etc Darling
Harbour is not very large and with such impsoing buildings so close
will soon feel like a swamp pond where no sunlight will be available
and people will feel imprisoned by the walls imposing on them.The
committee feels that these changes are not in the spirit of the
intention of Darling Harbour being for the public and preserving a
piece of Australian heritage .

Darling Harbour is meant to be an oasis in the city for the public,
residents and tourists alike.It is a place of relaxation and activity
a place where people can get together and enjoy the sun, food and
admire a piece of our Australian heritage. The step back building
process has this in mind however for some reason the plot has been
lost and private developers are trying to cash in on the Darling
Harbour experience by building monstrous pillars so close to the
waters edge that endangers the public experience. This building is so
tall and wide and thick that its shadow will affect the sunny aspect
of the area. Its imposing presence will make the open space feeling
seem a thing of the past. Its size and closeness to the walkway area
which is already narrow and a traffic issue for pedestrians and bike
riders alike will make one feel even more clostrophobic.
The walkway area on this side of Darling Harbour is already not coping
with the walkway traffic . The increase in residential dwellers in the
area and ofcourse tourists wishing to visit the Wax museum, Sea life,
cruises etc means that this side has alot of traffic.Also the people
who stop to look at the restaurants all take up extra room on an
already narrow walkway. This building will burden this walkway even
more. It needs to step back and step up in stages to leave an open air
feel and not detract from the heritage aspect of the bridge and wharfs
or detract from the tourist attracions of the wax museum etc Darling
Harbour is not very large and with such impsoing buildings so close
will soon feel like a swamp pond where no sunlight will be available
and people will feel imprisoned by the walls imposing on them. I love
this place please don't ruin its aspect . It is meant for the public
not the developers

Darling Harbour is meant to be an oasis in the city for the public,
residents and tourists alike.It is a place of relaxation and activity
a place where people can get together and enjoy the sun, food and
admire a piece of our Australian heritage. The step back building
process has this in mind however for some reason the plot has been
lost and private developers are trying to cash in on the Darling
Harbour experience by building monstrous pillars so close to the
waters edge that endangers the public experience. This building is so
tall and wide and thick that its shadow will affect the sunny aspect
of the area. Its imposing presence will make the open space feeling
seem a thing of the past. Its size and closeness to the walkway area
which is already narrow and a traffic issue for pedestrians and bike
riders alike will make one feel even more clostrophobic.
The walkway area on this side of Darling Harbour is already not coping
with the walkway traffic . The increase in residential dwellers in the
area and ofcourse tourists wishing to visit the Wax museum, Sea life,
cruises etc means that this side has alot of traffic.Also the people
who stop to look at the restaurants all take up extra room on an
already narrow walkway. This building will burden this walkway even
more. It needs to step back and step up in stages to leave an open air
feel and not detract from the heritage aspect of the bridge and wharfs
or detract from the tourist attracions of the wax museum etc Darling
Harbour is not very large and with such impsoing buildings so close
will soon feel like a swamp pond where no sunlight will be available
and people will feel imprisoned by the walls imposing on them.This is
a favourite weekend place for me. The openess around the water and the
sunshine are all part of the appeal. Please do not let private
developers lose this aspect.

public waterfront is not the place for tall towers. History will look at
our decisions to allow this and will question our knowledge and
integrity.

The higher surrounding buildings are the less hours of sunshine will
reach ground level. They also have the high risk of causing wind
tunnels. High buildings around the water front will make it cold and
dark and windy, decreasing it's appeal for public use.

We strongly object to the height and scale of the proposed development
that is being considered! The maximum total height to be no more than
the existing Commonwealth bank building and definitely no higher than
35 stories.

This site does not justify a fourth tower of any size it is far too
close to the waters edge and the Site is too congested already!

If we must have a fourth tower built then it should be lower and no
higher than the existing Commonwealth bank building.

The roofing should be similar to complement the valley flow already on
these three existing buildings in the proposed site area.

One building to observe in the surrounding area is the new recently
built HYATT Regency on the opposite side of the Pyrmont Bridge which
is lower in height than the Commonwealth bank building. Also the HYATT
is built further back from the waters edge than the proposed
development application being considered.

If this site is going to be completely rebuilt our suggestion is that
the footprint be stepped back to allow more space for pedestrian
traffic.

We do not want to encroach on the waters edge which is shown on the
design proposal and take up water space which is becoming very narrow
and very precious!

We hope these suggestions are taken into consideration when the final
decisions are being made. ThankYou

Regards Josie & Guy Di Benedetto

The amended View Loss Assessment in appendix D shows that the primary
concerns about loss of views at Astoria Tower have not been addressed
in any meaningful way.The loss of views to the harbour, surroundings
and sky would be significant. The provided justification is not
acceptable. The proposed structure would need to be shifted at least
25 meters towards the west to lessen the impact.

Why would you put such a large & ugly tower on the edge of the harbour.
Its scale and location is totally out of character with the profile of
Darling Harbour where the heights of the buildings should gradually
increase. It also takes away open space that links the entire harbour.
It also personally affects us by taking away views and light in our
existing apartment.

Dear Sir/ Madam,

Myself and most other residents of the residential building Astoria
Towers are deeply concerned about the impact of this proposal, as we
are directly affected.

Whilst we acknowledge the need of progress, this proposal would mean:
1) Loss of sunlight and outlook from the Astoria Tower, and other
surrounding buildings.
2) Increased traffic to what is already a congested road.
3) Loss of the public outlook/space at Darling Park, which is a valued
public facility to the local community.

This proposal will be erected at clear detriment to the local
community.

The size and position of development will block more than 50% of view to
Darling Harbour for a large number of units in my building.
For a large number of units, the windows facing Darling Harbour is the
only window in the unit and a large portion of it will be blocked by
an imposing building.
A lot of the afternoon sunlight will be blocked also.

The position of the building needs to be reverted back to it's
original position in the original draft a few years ago.

The developer has been very sneaky.
They seeked approval of residents in my building years ago and the
position of the building they submitted at the time had a smaller
impact on our building.
They then made adjustments to the position of the building which would
have a huge impact on a large number of residents in my building.

Buildings right next to landmarks and waterfront such as Darling
Harbour should be lower than smaller so the view of the landmark can
be shared by more buildings around it and behind it.
Having a huge building right in Darling Harbour is very bad for other
existing buildings.
The position and the size of the building needs to be carefully
considered to minimise impact to existing residents of the area.

I 100% fully object to the current proposal.

The minor adjustments to the amended DA does not change much, as it will
still affect those living in close proximity to the commercial tower.
Also, it does not change the fact that the building still dominates
the harbour, and by creating an extended board walk only means the
size of the harbour will shrink. Eventually, there may not be a
Darling Harbour in the near future as high rises will protrude the
actual harbour itself. With many ongoing developments in the city,
especially on Sussex St and Bathurst St, traffic will only continue to
worsen, substantially during peak hours. The Planning & Environment
department should rethink its vision for a harbour; whether it is an
area for business or a place for people.

With a minor amendment. The bulk and scale of the proposed tower still
remains and Cockle Bay is will no longer exist for future generations
to enjoy, Pyrmont Bridge and the icon of Darling Harbour will be
destroy. Because of profit and benefit of one the darling harbour will
no longer be a harbour and Astoria Tower residence will suffer. Please
think twice before approving such a large and tall building right by
the waters edge. This is not a new place for local and tourist to
enjoy it is more for profit. Once approved more large buildings will
follow along the harbour.

See attached

See attached

See attached