I am supportive of a redevelopment of the area.

However, I oppose the size of the development.

I live on Lansdowne Street. It is already a busy street. The current planned number of apartments together with stacker parking will make traffic unmanageable.

Also, no investigations appear to have been made as to what effects the works including vibrations will have on the homes nearby - most of which were built in the late 1800s.

I ask that the current application be refused.

Date: 7 June 2026
Attn: Assessment Officer
Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure
Application Reference Number: SSD-78545225
Project Name: Marlborough House - Residential Flat Building with Infill Affordable Housing
Site Address: 47-97 Marlborough Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
RE: OBJECTION to Proposed Residential Development Application (SSD-78545225)
Dear assessment officer,

I am writing to formally lodge my strong objection to the State Significant Development Application for the Marlborough House development.
As a resident and property owner at 62 Marlborough Street, my home stands directly opposite to and finishes within meters of the proposed construction boundary. The layout of my home means that both our downstairs lounge room and our upstairs master bedroom have primary windows facing directly toward the development site. If approved in its current form, this high-density project will permanently compromise our daily quality of life, acoustic privacy, and physical health, while severely damaging the ongoing liveability, tenantability, and baseline viability of our property.

My formal objections are based on the following critical planning grounds:

Unacceptable Construction Noise, Vibration, and Acoustic Disturbance
The scale of the proposed excavation and structural works over multiple years will generate extreme acoustic disruption. Because our primary living and sleeping quarters (lounge and master bedroom) directly face the site across a narrow street, we will bear the brunt of continuous heavy machinery operation, concrete pouring, and structural drilling. This level of prolonged acoustic assault violates the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Interim Construction Noise Guideline. It will render our home unliveable during daylight hours and fundamentally disrupt our right to quiet enjoyment of our private property.

Airborne Dust, Particulate Pollution, and Health Hazards
The demolition and construction phases of a project this massive will release significant amounts of airborne dust, silica, and particulate matter directly toward our openable living and bedroom windows. This creates a severe environmental health hazard for residents. The close proximity of 62 Marlborough Street means that basic air quality cannot be maintained, forcing us to keep windows permanently sealed, completely destroying our natural ventilation and causing a severe loss of residential amenity.

Severe Demolition/Construction Traffic and Street Bottlenecks
Marlborough Street is historically narrow and already under severe parking and traffic strain. The influx of heavy rigid vehicles, trade utilities, concrete trucks, and delivery vans over a multi-year construction timeline will paralyse the local road network. The application fails to demonstrate a viable Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP) that ensures safe pedestrian access, protects existing residential permit parking spaces, or mitigates the traffic gridlock that will prevent residents from entering or exiting their own streets.

Severe Loss of Visual Amenity and Overshadowing of Habitable Rooms
The proposal to construct a 8 - 10-storey tower over the existing warehouse podium creates an unacceptable level of visual bulk that will completely tower over our building. Because our downstairs lounge and upstairs master bedroom face the site, the current design will cast massive, unbroken shadows directly into our primary living and sleeping zones. This violates the core principles of the City of Sydney Development Control Plan (DCP) regarding solar preservation. It is unreasonable to expect existing residents to lose all natural light to their main living areas to accommodate the developer’s over-speculative height bonuses.

Failure to Provide Sufficient Car Parking Infrastructure
Marlborough Street is notoriously jammed pack with cars, and local street parking is already operating at a breaking point. Injecting 172 new residential units into this single block without mandating sufficient self-contained basement parking is a recipe for local infrastructure failure. The developer must be required to provide enough on-site parking spaces to sufficiently accommodate all new residents. Furthermore, the development should feature dedicated delivery, visitor, and short-term parking configurations to ensure that the surrounding community and "outsiders" are not forced to compete for the already scarce street side spaces.

Breach of Heritage Curtilage and Lack of Upper-Level Setbacks
While the adaptive reuse of the historic David Jones factory is supported in theory, the current architectural scale fails to respect the heritage fabric of the street. The upper storeys must not sit flush with or dominate the historic facade. To preserve the low-to-medium-rise streetscape of Surry Hills, the building should step back significantly further after the heritage level.

Unjustified Abuse of Height Bonuses via In-fill Affordable Housing Policies
While the provision of 15% affordable housing is a commendable community objective, it should not be used as a blunt instrument to bypass local building height limits to the detriment of existing residents. The sweeping height and floor-space ratio (FSR) bonuses requested by the developer represent severe overdevelopment. The state-level planning incentives should not strip existing neighbours of their fundamental rights to sunlight, privacy, and street access.

Compounded Loss of Property Liveability and Tenantability
The cumulative impact of severe noise, constant dust pollution, and parking paralysis will strip this property of its basic liveability. These severe environmental disruptions make it functionally impossible to attract or retain tenants, or to realistically sell the property if relocation becomes necessary due to the construction health impacts. The developer’s financial gain must not come at the expense of an immediate neighbor's financial security and baseline property rights.

Requested Remedy and Compromise
To resolve these severe impacts on 62 Marlborough Street, I request that the Department mandate the following strict conditions before any approval is considered:
• Height Reduction & Setback: Force a strict, deep architectural step-back above the historic warehouse level, capping the total height of the development at a maximum of 6 storeys to protect the solar envelope of our living room and bedroom windows.
• Strict Construction Conditions: Mandate acoustic hoarding, mandatory real-time dust monitoring stations outside Marlborough Street with automated work-stop triggers, and a complete ban on trade vehicle parking on Marlborough Street.
• Parking Mandate: Refuse any parking-minimum exemptions and force the developer to expand underground excavation to ensure full on-site parking self-sufficiency for future residents.

I request that my personal details remain confidential if this submission is published online. Thank you for considering the severe, direct impacts this project will have on my home.
Yours sincerely,
The owners
62 Marlborough Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010

To Whom It May Concern,

I am the owner and resident of an apartment within Edgeview Tower Apartments, the residential building immediately adjoining the proposed Marlborough House redevelopment site. The two buildings are directly adjacent and share a common wall interface, placing Edgeview Tower residents among those most directly affected by both the construction activities and the completed development. My apartment is on the eastern edge of Edgeview, meaning my living room, kitchen and bedroom walls adjoin directly with Marlborough House.

I object to the proposal in its current form unless further assessment and mitigation measures are undertaken to address the significant impacts on neighbouring residents, particularly in relation to overshadowing, privacy and construction-related structural impacts.

1. Loss of Sunlight and Overshadowing
My apartment in Edgeview Tower is located on the second floor and has a north-east aspect. The apartment currently benefits from direct morning sunlight and natural daylight, which are important contributors to residential amenity, energy efficiency and occupant wellbeing. The location of Marlborough House to the east of Edgeview means the additional height will significantly reduce sunlight in the mornings.

Given the proposed increase in building height and bulk on the adjoining site, I am concerned that the development will result in a material reduction in sunlight and daylight access to my apartment. As a lower-level apartment immediately adjacent to the site, I am particularly vulnerable to overshadowing impacts.
The Department should carefully assess the extent of overshadowing created by the proposal throughout the year, particularly during winter when solar access is most limited. I request that the applicant demonstrate that impacts on neighbouring residential properties, including my apartment, have been minimised to the greatest extent practicable.

Any unnecessary loss of sunlight should be addressed through modifications to building height, setbacks or massing to better protect the amenity of existing residents.

2. Privacy Impacts
The proposed building's increased height and proximity to Edgeview Tower will create new opportunities for direct overlooking into neighbouring apartments and communal facilities.

Of particular concern is the potential for direct views into the Edgeview Tower swimming pool and communal recreation areas such as the gym, as well as into private residential apartments. Residents have a reasonable expectation of privacy within both their homes and communal facilities.

The proposal should incorporate measures to minimise overlooking and visual intrusion, including appropriate setbacks, screening, window treatments, landscaping and other privacy mitigation measures. I request that the Department carefully assess sightlines from the proposed development into adjoining properties and require additional privacy protections where necessary. Additionally, and at a minimum, the proposed pedestrian walkway on Marlborough House’s western boundary should include tall, mature trees/vegetation to provide immediate privacy between the buildings.

3. Construction Vibration, Structural Risk and Property Damage
My primary concern relates to the risk of structural impacts arising from demolition, excavation and construction activities.

As Edgeview Tower directly adjoins the development site and shares a common wall interface, residents face a heightened risk of vibration-related damage. Activities such as demolition, rock breaking, excavation, piling, heavy vehicle movements and crane operations can transmit vibration through adjoining structures and foundations.

Even relatively minor vibration events can result in cracking to walls, ceilings, tiling, waterproofing systems and finishes. More significant impacts may affect building fabric and structural elements. Given the age and proximity of surrounding buildings, these risks warrant careful consideration.
The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and supporting technical documentation should clearly demonstrate how these risks will be managed and mitigated.

Any approval should include conditions requiring:
• Comprehensive pre- and post-construction dilapidation reports for Edgeview Tower (and individual apartments where owners request such).
• Independent structural condition assessments undertaken before, during and after construction.
• Continuous vibration monitoring throughout demolition, excavation and construction activities.
• Public reporting of vibration monitoring results.
• Clearly defined vibration limits based on recognised Australian Standards and industry best practice.
• Immediate investigation of any exceedances or complaints.
• Full rectification, at the developer's expense, of any damage attributable to the development works.

Given the shared-wall arrangement and extremely close proximity between the buildings, these requirements should be mandatory rather than discretionary. I would also expect all costs associated with these reports and monitoring to be fully covered by the developer Time & Place.

4. Cumulative Construction Impacts
In addition to structural concerns, residents of Edgeview Tower will be exposed to prolonged noise, vibration, dust and disruption throughout the demolition and construction phases.

The Department should ensure that any Construction Environmental Management Plan contains robust measures for noise, vibration, dust suppression, traffic management and resident communication. Residents should receive advance notification of particularly disruptive works and have access to a clear complaints and response process. It is important to note that correspondence related to this development has thus far been sub-standard. Mailbox drops and community consultation referred to in the EIS has either not occurred or not been widely publicised as I am not aware of any community consultation occurring and have not received anything in my mailbox about this. Additionally, the website listed in the EIS (marlboroughsurryhills.com.au) does not actually exist (or is no longer live).

Conclusion
While I support appropriate urban renewal and redevelopment within Surry Hills, development should not occur at the unreasonable expense of neighbouring residents.

Given the site's immediate adjacency to Edgeview Tower Apartments and the shared-wall interface between the properties, I request that the Department give particular consideration to:
• Loss of sunlight and overshadowing impacts;
• Loss of privacy and overlooking of apartments and communal facilities;
• Risks associated with demolition, excavation and construction vibration;
• Potential structural damage to neighbouring properties; and
• The need for stringent monitoring, reporting and remediation requirements.

I respectfully request that these matters be fully addressed before any determination is made and that any approval be subject to robust conditions designed to protect neighbouring residents and properties.

Yours faithfully,
Owner and Resident, Edgeview Tower Apartments
Surry Hills NSW