The quaint village atmosphere of Darby Street must be retained and building needs to align to current street and area heights to prevent a major city landscape. King Street and Hunter have this city landscape. Prevent high rise city sprawl into areas around cooks hill which have old world townhouse charm.

This project is an over development of the site. The density is not supported by local infrastructure eg parking and traffic. The density is not in keeping with the heritage value of the existing area. The height is excessive and places too much pressure on parking and traffic congestion. The height exceeds current planning restrictions and sets a precedent of overcrowding that is incongruent for the local area.

To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing to lodge a personal objection to the proposed high-rise development at 47 Darby Street.
I am a long-term resident of a nearby townhouse and have made this my home here for many years. As I move into my later years, the comfort, safety, and liveability of my home have become increasingly important to me. Unfortunately, the scale and design of this proposed development will have a serious and lasting impact on my ability to continue enjoying my home and maintaining my quality of life.
One of my greatest concerns is the loss of sunlight, particularly during the winter months. Based on the proposal, my townhouse will be placed in shadow from approximately 1:30p.m. onwards, leaving my home without direct sunlight for the remainder of the day. Sunlight is essential not only for warmth, but also for health and wellbeing. During winter, this afternoon sun is my primary means of naturally warming my home. Its loss will make my living environment colder, less comfortable, and quite frankly the thought of living in continuous shade on a winters afternoon is very depressing.
I have 2 beautiful grandsons who live on the Central Coast and love to come and stay at “Grandads house”. I fear they will visit less often during the demolition and construction phase which may take several years to complete.
I am also concerned about the broader impacts of the development, including increased noise, potential contamination during excavation, and the risk of land subsidence affecting our properties, which are in very close proximity. These issues create uncertainty and anxiety for someone who simply wishes to remain safely and peacefully in their own home.
Taken together, these impacts represent a significant reduction in residential amenity. I feel that the proposal does not adequately consider the lived experience of existing residents, particularly older residents, nor does it strike a fair balance between development and the wellbeing of the surrounding community. The contributory 2 buildings currently on this site will have to be demolished under this proposal, and that is history that Newcastle will never get back.
I respectfully ask the consent authority to carefully consider the long-term effects of this development on neighbouring residents and to reconsider or substantially amend the proposal to reduce its harmful impacts.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my submission.
Yours sincerely,
Graeme

I fully support the project to build the apartments, however I feel as though the design needs to be changed. The current layout has a 12 storey tower on the roadside and a 7 storey tower further east built into the hill. This would mean minimal sunlight throughout the day for residents in the lower floors of the 7 storey tower. If they were switched around, both towers would benefit from more natural light throughout the day.

Greetings. I am writing to object to the proposed 12-storey residential development at 47 Darby Street in Newcastle. As a 10-year resident of the city, I have significant concerns about this proposal, which is fundamentally incompatible with the established neighbourhood character and contradicts Newcastle's urban planning principles.
The proposed building represents a 300% exceedance of the current legal height limit. This is not a minor variation but a wholesale disregard for development standards that protect neighbourhood character and amenity. Allowing such a breach would set a dangerous precedent for future developments throughout Newcastle.
The building will severely overshadow existing homes and apartments. Residents who purchased with reasonable expectations about neighbourhood character and sunlight access will suffer significant loss of amenity. The impact on shadow, privacy, and streetscape scale will be profound and irreversible.
The building will tower over the Newcastle Art Gallery, dominating rather than complementing this important civic institution. Our cultural infrastructure deserves protection from inappropriate adjacent development.
Newcastle has successfully concentrated high-rise development along the harbour foreshore while maintaining low-rise, human-scaled buildings in established neighbourhoods. This respects heritage, maintains character, and creates distinct precincts. Darby Street is in one of Newcastle's oldest and most architecturally significant areas. A 12-storey tower is aesthetically and contextually inappropriate, appearing as a jarring anomaly.
This luxury apartment proposal will not address housing needs of those most requiring affordable housing. If Council considers variations to planning controls, this should only occur for developments demonstrably serving the public interest.
In short, I strongly urge you to reject this application. The proposal:
- Grossly exceeds established height limits
- Will cause significant loss of amenity to residents
- Is inappropriate in scale and character for this historic area
- Contradicts Newcastle's successful planning strategy
- Will overshadow the Art Gallery
- Offers no offsetting community benefit
Through thoughtful planning over many years, Newcastle has grown rapidly while protecting the city's character. This proposal fails on all counts and should not be approved.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.

This project will completely dominate this important cultural precinct in Newcastle. Carefully planning over many years has preserved this precinct as a beautiful and calming area within the central civic zone. This development will overwhelm the area and destroy the rare and precious ambiance of the precinct.

I am not against development per se. Newcastle does, however, have a zone at Newcastle West where high rise apartments contribute to a natural and appropriate precinct. Newcastle West is close to the transport interchange and is clearly identified as a high rise precinct.

My principal concern is the bulk of the proposed development and the impact on this culturally significant and beautiful area. The current height limits should be preserved. Further, the local streets will not be able to manage the increased traffic in the area.

Should this development be approved I will grieve the unnecessary loss to the city of Newcastle. There are other clearly defined areas in Newcastle where large scale development should continue to be allowed. The Civic Park, Art Gallery and Library are all human-scale and wonderful places to be. This proposed development will overwhelm these public assets forever and for what purpose? Some luxury apartments that should be built in a precinct that has been planned for this purpose.

Please do not allow this development to be approved.

I feel like Newcastle has reached a point where High-rise living is going overboard and car parks are even more Scarce which Will only add to the frustration of going into town and living in town.

The area proposed for 2 buildings is in a densely populated area but are at the agreed height suitable for coexistence.The proposed building will over shadow & block vision to the west .Also it invites higher residential traffic,which is already compromised by building on old NBN site…such decisions smack of lack of common sense & greedy developers not considering the existing residents

Hi there, I write in support of the proposed Darby Street development. Newcastle is a growing city with a need for more housing of all types, to cater for those who live in the city and those who wish to move here. I believe the proposed development provides Newcastle an opportunity to think bigger, and activate the city’s spaces in ways that haven’t previously been able.

I believe the benefits that this proposal would have for local business, public transport patronage, housing availability, and the way in which Newcastle is able to think about itself far outweigh any concerns about the height of the building or purported impacts on the community made by a noisy minority.

The access that the site has to green space, beaches, public transport, and retail and hospitality, along with the opportunities which it would afford its residents makes it a must for the city. It should be regarded as the opportunity it is for a growing city.

There is a strong and long held view from a small group of Novocastrians that the city should remain as it was when BHP ruled the roost. This is an outdated and NIMBY perspective that does not consider the world as it is, or the potential that Newcastle has as NSW’s second biggest city. I believe this development represents that potential and should be allowed to move forward, so that Newcastle can realise that potential.

Agree