This new development application for the beautiful heritage suburb of Castlecrag amounts to vandalism.
There is a beautiful approved DA ready to go, consistent with the heritage values, developed with broad community consultation and a design competition with high profile and respected judges including Elizabeth Farrelly.
This new DA has no merit, no community support and bears no relationship to the existing DA. The site does not meet the criteria for Low and Mid Rise Housing Policy (LMR) or Transport Oriented Development (TOD). It will not contribute to housing affordability or address the housing shortage as it is a high-end development.
This new DA is totally inconsistent with the Griffin philosophy of buildings being subservient to the environment. It is the wrong scale in the wrong place. It will tower over the adjoining Griffin Conservation Area and be an ugly and permanent reminder of greed, abrogation of planning principles and possible corrupt processes.
The Castlecrag community is opposed to this development. Please reject it and insist on the existing approved DA-2024/13 which will complement not destroy this internationally renowned heritage suburb.

My objection is the traffic and accessibility issues that the revised plan will create. I have no objection to the original proposal but it is abundantly clear to local residents that the revision of the plan to 11+ storeys with the accompanying car parking increase is not workable. An INDEPENDENT traffic assessment should be undertaken. We have one main road (Edinburgh Rd) into and out to the suburb. Unless the new traffic can be diverted to an Eastern Valley Way entry/exit only then this development will create a long term accessibility issue for Castlecrag. It will clearly be difficult for residents trying to exit/enter the suburb in peak hour - as well as having a flow on impact to the north bound commuters who turn left onto Eastern Valley Way road in the evening (as there will be banked up traffic on the western side of Edinburgh road). Not only will there be daily traffic issues but the plan also puts the safety of residents at risk in the event of a bush fire - the only exit point for the suburb would be a bottle-neck. I am happy to discuss but the long- term impact on residents need to outweigh the short-term profit motivation of the developer. As stated at the start of my submission, I am supportive of the original proposal but not the current 11+ storey submission. Ultimately, I do not understand why the current proposal is even being considered when the original submission was approved and the revised plans height limit exceeds the Northbridge town centre height limit (which is a more established “town” than Castlecrag).

I do not agree with the current proposal for a tall structure. It isn't in keeping with the character of Castlecrag and will create traffic chaos entering in and out of the suburb.

The proposed development at 100 Edinburgh Road is grossly unsuitable for the location and should not be approved.

In particular, the scale of the development, including the number of apartments and the size of the supermarket and other retail included in the development, is significantly out of proportion with the location on a major urban road intersection with Eastern Valley Way which is the only safe exit point for all vehicular traffic from the Castlecrag peninsula. The increased traffic generated by the proposed development is likely to unreasonably impact the time required to exit the peninsula, particularly for emergency travel, during school drop off and pick up times, during peak hour commuter times and during peak shopping times. The increased traffic generated will also have a significant impact on all other users of the intersection, particularly people traveling in private vehicles and public buses to and from the Forestville and northern beaches areas that are forced to use Eastern Valley Way. In summary, all people on buses, vehicles, bikes and as pedestrians using the Edinburgh Road/Eastern Valley Way intersection during elevated traffic times will be adversely affected by the traffic generated by this development.

In addition, the proposed development is completely out of character and does not belong in the particular location. For good reason, residents of NSW do not support hotels being built next to schools or factories being built in the middle of residential areas. The proposed development is equally inappropriate at the location because of its grossly overscale size compared to the surrounding residential areas, its impact on habitat (loss of trees), its impact on heritage areas, its limited community facility, its visual impact and its lack of contribution to the amenity of the area.

The legitimacy of the development application is also affected by the quality and nature of the community consultation conducted by the developer. While they claim to have ticked all the boxes on community consultation in reality they have clearly demonstrated they had no intention of listening to feedback from the community and were not prepared to modify its proposal based on feedback. Their behaviour indicates they are attempting to game a planning system introduced in good faith by government to try and address a shortage of reasonably priced residential accommodation in the Sydney region. This type of approach by developers should not be rewarded.

The developer has purchased a site with an existing development proposal that has been approved through the proper channels following extensive community consultation. The approved development for the site includes the addition to the Castlecrag community of a number of new residences (I believe 39 in total) which is significant in itself and far more appropriate for the site and the community. The developer should be required to complete the approved development or sell the site to another developer who will. If the developer has paid a premium for the site on the basis they could secure a totally inappropriate increase in scale that is their problem and neither the community or the taxpayer should not be penalised.

This building is much larger than the original development which was approved and supported by the local community. Castlecrag is a unique heritage suburb and a building of this scale will significantly negatively impact the amenity of the surrounding streets. It will be an oversized structure which does not fit with the surrounding buildings and public spaces. There is no train by this building, it does not need to be this enormous.

There is already an approved DA for the medium density housing for the site which fits in with the character of the suburb. The proposed building is out of scale with the surrounding area. The bus only public transport will be insufficient to cater for the additional residents, which will lead to more cars on Edinburgh Rd. Edinburgh Rd/Eastern Valley Way intersection is already congested on some mornings so will not cope with the additional cars from 150 apartments. I agree that we need to increase housing in Castlecrag but it should done in a way sensitive to the surrounding area - eg the developments along Eastern Valley Way. Buildings of the height proposed in the development belong in centres like Chatswood, Crows Nest or St Leonards. Castlecrag is not on the rail or metro line - how can this development be considered state significant?

The proposed development represents a logical evolution of the site and reflects the changing needs of growing urban communities. As demand for housing and access to well-connected locations continues to increase, it is important that established areas are able to accommodate additional residents in a measured and well-planned way.

Developments of this nature help create more balanced and functional communities by placing housing closer to existing employment areas, services, transport infrastructure, and everyday amenities. This not only improves convenience and accessibility for residents, but also supports a more efficient distribution of population growth across the metropolitan area.

By directing new development toward locations that can already support it, the proposal contributes to a more practical and sustainable pattern of urban growth while reducing the need for continued expansion into outer suburban and undeveloped areas.

Please see my objection attached

RAIA Submission attached.