Mixed Use Development - 903-921 Bourke St Waterloo

We are long-standing residents of Morehead Street, living in immediate proximity to the Danks
Street South Precinct and within the Waterloo Heritage Conservation Area (HCA). Our property
and broader neighbourhood will be materially affected by the proposal. We submit this objection
in response to the public exhibition of SSD-95997711 - 903-921 Bourke St Waterloo
This submission objects to SSD-95997711 on two grounds that are foundational to the
assessment.
First, the Housing Delivery Authority pathway is being misused. It was created to unlock housing
that cannot be built; this site already has an active development consent, construction underway,
and approximately 350 purchased apartments in the ground. The HDA declaration does not
remove any planning barrier — it creates new ones. The assessment process itself will delay the
delivery of housing that would otherwise be complete.
Second, the proposed built form has not been justified through any genuine planning or design
process commensurate with its scale. The application seeks to more than double tower heights
above controls established through a State-led precinct planning process completed in 2019,
without a competitive design excellence process, without adequate analysis of shadow and
cumulative impacts, and without independent demonstration that a lower-density outcome cannot
achieve the stated objectives.
Taken together, these grounds support refusal. If the application proceeds to assessment, this
submission requests that the Department address the specific deficiencies in the EIS identified in
the sections below before the matter is determined.

SEE ATTACHED DOCUMENT FOR FULL RESPONSE

As a long-term resident of Waterloo, I strongly object to the proposal to increase the number of storeys of the future development in the area, especially the development of Bourke St North and the Young Street Tower.
Waterloo and Zetland are high-density areas that already experience parking and public transport shortages, as well as excessive traffic and air and noise pollution.
Due to a large number of high-rise buildings in the area, many apartments (particularly those on lower levels) do not receive enough sunlight, leading to high moisture and mould issues, which exacerbate during colder seasons. Adding more high-rises will lead to further overshadowing, impacting the comfort and health of the residents.
Increasing the number of high-rise developments has the potential to create stronger winds in the area, which is already an issue around Waterloo and Zetland.

I have lived on Bourke Street in Waterloo for almost 10 years - this level of intensification on the site is needed to address the growing housing crisis across Sydney. The site is well located with good proximity to the city and its jobs and services. The proposed development will result in a positive outcome to the local area, especially given the current site being sat dormant and underutilised for many years.

The proposed height and density increase are excessive and a significant departure from the original concept. This would place unacceptable pressure on already stretched local roads and public transport. Bourke Street will be a traffic nightmare unless it's totally closed to cars and a light rail station is built to reduce the burden

The proposed height is far too large for its surroundings and out of character with the existing neighbourhood. Its scale would dominate the streetscape and create a serious visual impact undermining the area's character. The two oversized towers at 903-921 and 881-885 Bourke Street, along with the tower at 881-885, would create significant cumulative overshadowing during winter months affecting nearby homes streets and public open space.

Finally, the proposed height would create wind tunnel effects at street level reducing pedestrian comfort and making the public domain unpleasant to use.

I object to the Proposal based on the infrastructure assessment that has been provided.

Sydney is facing a serious housing affordability crisis. The NSW Productivity Commission has warned that without significantly increasing housing supply, Sydney risks becoming a “city without grandchildren.” As a young person, I already see friends and colleagues being priced out of the city. Approving well-located housing developments like this one is an important step toward addressing that shortage.

One of the anti-development concerns that I am sympathetic to, is that the public transport is lacking in this area. While current bus services in the area may not yet be ideal, this should not be used as a reason to prevent additional housing. All too often, an issue that may have merit in some circumstances becomes a blanket justification for refusal. If we wait for absolutely perfect conditions before allowing new homes, we will simply wait forever while the housing shortage worsens.

Sensible planning recognizes that housing growth and infrastructure improvements should progress together, rather than waiting for one to be perfect before allowing the other.

Waterloo already demonstrates how density attracts investment: the State Government’s decision to convert half of Moore Park Golf Course into public parkland was justified in part by the high population density of surrounding suburbs. Continued growth will similarly support and justify future improvements, including upgrades to public transport services.

Waterloo and surrounding suburbs have already benefited significantly from recent high-density development, which has supported walkability, local businesses, and a wide range of amenities. I visit the area frequently because of these qualities and would strongly consider living in this suburb in the future, including in or near the proposed development. Planning decisions should consider not only existing residents, but also the many future residents who wish to live in well-located communities like Waterloo.

For these reasons, I support approval of this development.

The City of Sydney aims to be a liveable city. In recent report it highlights how a focus on design, innovation and sustainability has shaped and created a better living environment in the City of Sydney area. We want this care and attention to design, livability and sustainability for quality of life for the residents of the City of Sydney in the Waterloo area and surrounds.

The proposal of DASCO to the NSW Government (SSD-95997711) seeks to dramatically alter the original plans approved by the City of Sydney. This is so far out of scope of the initial approved plan that took time and consultation to work through the impacts on the community.

An increase from 12 to 31 storeys (Bourke Street North) and an increase from 21 to 38 storeys (Young Street Towers) is an immense jump in scale. Most building surrounding are at 6 - 12 storeys maximum. This in a hefty increase of an additional 233 apartments from the 347 already approved.

With this scale there is not enough parking provided in the area (or proposed to be developed) .
Infrastructure (public transport and roads strain) & shortage of amenities- current infrastructure will not support the unplanned increase in residents to the area. The people who already live in the area are struggling to access services that their taxes pay for.

Height of the building is out of character with the other buildings in its surrounds. It's scale would dominate and negatively impact the residential and neighbourhood feel of the surrounds. This is what makes the area attractive to live in.

It will overshadow other building and local walk/ways park areas. Additionally, it impacts the shared view of our beautiful city that so many residents paid handsomely for and our property values will be negatively impacted with an overpowering block in the way.

This will bring in thousands of new residents too quickly that the area is not ready for. Getting a Doctors appointment in the area takes days or weeks sometimes! Where is the planning for improved service delivery/transport/public amenities/park area to accompany such a huge increase in towering apartment buildings? It is not balance and not fair that the local residents are negatively impacted.

I’d like to express my extreme concern and objection to the proposed changes to this development. This intersection and area is already a huge bottleneck both ways particularly when vehicles site attempting to turn onto Lachlan street from McEvoy - I encourage you to try st most times of the day.

Travelling not even two kms to drop my children from 10 Lachlan to Alexandria Park Community School takes me half an hour - difficult when also working full time - not to mention there iare no buses going through there / only a school bus for the primary students ONLY - but NO public transport travels any way parallel to Lachlan st to anywhere near that school - so we are forced to drive (or have children with back problems due to the weight of school bags these days).

This is an area already in traffic crisis - also travelling the opposite way - try to turn left from Lachlan onto eastern distributor will take an hour / or carry on straight through Lachlan onto Dacey Ave towards Randwick (one of the few ways to get to eastern suburbs due to Moore Park) well you can’t even get through the lights at the end of McEvoy to get onto Bourke to turn right onto Lachlan.

Thank you for your consideration and action - more units = more people = more cars = more traffic in an already highly congested area

Planning Lab has been engaged by the Moore Park Gardens Community Association, Strata Plan 54721, 780 Bourke Street Redfern, to prepare an objection to this proposal on behalf of its residents.
Please consider this is a placeholder submission for which a more detailed planning submission will be submitted within the next week.
From an initial review of the application documents, it is considered that the proposed development will have unreasonable and adverse impacts on my client's property, particularly in terms of excessive, density, scale, bulks and traffic generation.
The siting of this proposal is also contrary to the City of Sydney Council's policy on the Housing Delivery Authority development locations.