Whatever decison is made with respect to this proposed development will define the legacy bestowed to future Castlecrag residents by the NSW Government, the developer, local residents and the local council.
If approved, it will stand in stark contrast to the wonderful legacy and foresight gifted by Walter Burley Griffin and his wife.
The proposed development is an abomination and I am strongly opposed to it. If approved, the building would not be a legacy I would want to be associated with and would stand as a case study of Government overeach, developer indifference to those adversely affected and the wishes of the local affected community being ignored.
I have concerns about the process that has got us to this point, notably:
- The ignoring/setting aside of the current approved DA (for a significantly smaller development) that was vigorously and rigorously evolved with the extensive involvement of the local community and elected local representatives.
- Poor community enagement by Conquest with the local communication and none from the NSW Government regarding any justification of the SSD process for this location.
- Significant questions about whether the proposal meets EIS requirements and whether the application of the SSD process is permissable for this location and circumstance.
- Omissions and inaccuracies identified in the DA itself.

Aside from questions regarding whether the process being used to further this DA has been lawful, correctly observed and appropriate, particular concerns are:
- The awful design - bulk, scale and aesthetics.
- The consequential significant increase in road traffic if the proposed development is built - leading to likely material increases in time to both exit and enter Castecrag to/from Eastern Valley Way, noting that the public transport (only buses) will provide negligible mitigation to the increase in residents and retail shoppers.
- The significant destruction of the tree canopy that the development will require.

According to Willoughby Council, "Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, through their company, the Greater Sydney Development Association, bought approximately 650 acres of land in Middle Harbour, Sydney, in 1921. This land was developed into the residential suburbs of Castlecrag, Middle Cove, and Castle Cove, with a focus on preserving the natural landscape, rock outcrops, and foreshore for community use."


When you consider this alongside the Acknowledgement of Country, a respectful practice that Australians and our Councilors recite at the start of meetings or events to recognize the Traditional Owners of the land and their ongoing connection to it, we seem to have a problem. The current owners of the property on the land that you are developing - need respect today, not apologies in the future.

Walter Burley Griffin is well known for leaving a significant legacy in Australian urban planning and architecture, that cannot be said for the developers and Council, who have proposed an ugly twin tower high rise that is so far from the community and nature surrounding Castlecrag it is almost laughable.

100 Edinburgh Road is the beginning in Castlecrag, of a very sad and disrespectful future of the land and our community.

I look forward to hearing that someone has the courage to stand up for Castlecrag, and the future that we leave for our children, by going back to the agreed plan of a building with 5 stories, that offers, housing, money for the developers, space for the community, solutions for Council, close to public transport but also respects the people and the nature around it, and the vision of the people who bought the land many years ago.

Please see PDF attached

Would be valuable to the community

I am strongly opposed to this project. My family has lived in the area for 19 years and believe a project of this scale would irrevocably damage the beautiful village character of Castlecrag. It is a massive departure from the approved development which we thought was beautifully suited to the area. This project introduces dramatically excessive height & density, significant tree loss (nearly 50%), increased traffic, overshadowing and serious impacts on the heritage conservation area. All of this impact without doing anything meaningful to provide affordable housing.Please listen and consult with the locals who are universally opposed to this completely inappropriate development proposal that will ruin Castlecrag.

There is time when suburbs need to wake up or else they wither away and die… this project will save Castlecrag.

I wish to formally object to the proposed 12-storey apartment development at 100 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag. While increased housing supply is often presented as a necessity, this proposal appears fundamentally misaligned with both the capacity and character of the local area.
The surrounding intersection and road network are already heavily burdened, particularly during peak hours. Introducing a development of this scale would inevitably intensify congestion and place further strain on infrastructure that is clearly operating at or near its limits. Notably, there has been little indication of any meaningful upgrades to support such an increase in demand.

The proposed height is also excessive. A 12-storey building represents a stark departure from Castlecrag’s established low-rise, heritage-sensitive environment. Such a structure would be visually intrusive and wholly out of character with the surrounding streetscape.

In addition, neighbouring properties will be significantly impacted, particularly through loss of natural light due to overshadow.
This raises serious concerns about residential amenity.

Finally, the lack of adequate public transport in the area only compounds these issues, as increased reliance on private vehicles is unavoidable.

For these reasons, I strongly oppose the proposal. This raises serious concerns about residential amenity.

Utter disgrace. As someone who grew up and lived in Castlecrag for over 30 years, the new development goes against everything that makes Castlecrag so special - a quiet, suburban community focused suburb that has NO high density living overshadowing anything. Where to start, the building won't fit in with the Burleigh Griffin theme of the suburb, the loss of nature and tress that this is going to incur to build this eye sore not to mention all the extra traffic and congestion that this is going to cause.
It is already congested enough leaving Castlecrag without adding almost 400 extra cars to the suburb. Despite what the proposal suggests of Castlecrag's proximity to public transport, the reality is it is NOT close to any rail services (St Leonards, Artarmon or Chatswood) without driving - a bus to Chatswood takes approx 30 minutes and they do not run frequently so this does not resolve the car issue and bike riding in the hilly north shore of Sydney is impractical for the clientele purchasing these properties. Further with the traffic - people turning right into the proposed block driving home in peak hour (or any other time) is going to cause a huge backlog into Edinburgh Rd - there will be no way to over take these cars given the left lane is a parking lane (and is always full).
I urge you to sincerely reconsider this proposal, it'll have detrimental and devastating effects for Castlecrag and completely destroy the suburb me and my family have grown up and loved over the past 30+ years

I am objecting to this development because of the traffic it will create and that there is only one road for access to Eastern Valley Way.
The 2 towers are very high and will cast a shadow on our houses and we will be deprived of sunlight.
With the addition of so many cars, the pollution will be harmful to all of us.
Parking problems and traffic congestion.
Zoning will not be met. There should only be low to medium density.
The area of Castlecrag is a heritage area and this development will destroy our beautiful village type of life.
We will be losing lots of matured trees.
The sight of 2 towers will affect our visuals.
The development will not really satisfy affordable housing concerns.
Design and loss of community public space is not acceptable.