I do not live in Rose Bay, but I visit the area often, and I have been shocked by the level of fear and distress this proposal has caused among local residents. People are genuinely worried that their homes — many already showing signs of movement and groundwater issues — will suffer damage if another deep basement excavation proceeds in this fragile part of the Harbour Basin.

The location of this SSD is known to have extremely shallow, tidally influenced groundwater and very loose coastal sands. For a project of this scale to excavate multiple basement levels in such conditions poses obvious and foreseeable risks to surrounding homes and public assets. The community’s concerns are not hypothetical; nearby streets have already experienced cracking, subsidence, groundwater inundation and even structural failures from much smaller excavations. If that has happened with minor works, it is reasonable to expect far greater consequences from an 8-storey tower with extensive basement works.

I am also deeply concerned about the potential impacts on Sydney Harbour itself — including disturbance of acid sulfate soils, alterations to groundwater flows, and mobilisation of contaminants into an already sensitive foreshore system. These are long-term environmental risks that cannot be reversed once triggered.

Allowing a development of this intensity in one of the most hydrogeologically sensitive parts of the Eastern Suburbs will also create a dangerous precedent for future LMR proposals. This area simply cannot absorb repeated deep excavations or cumulative groundwater interference without exposing residents and the environment to escalating harm. Once destabilised, neither private insurance nor government will be able to fully rectify the damage.

This objection is not about views, neighbourhood character or heritage. It is about public safety, environmental stewardship and avoiding foreseeable structural and geotechnical harm before it occurs. Once the ground is destabilised or the harbour’s soils are disturbed, the consequences cannot be undone.

I respectfully urge the NSW Government to reject this SSD and to immediately review the broader high-risk settlement areas surrounding Dover Road. The risks are clear, well-documented and disproportionate to any public benefit.

It is crazy what is happened in this area . I live oppressed Rose Bay primary school. Traffic is chaotic ! Impossible to get into Newcastle street . I came home from double Bay this week I could not turn into Dover road the traffic was horrendous! I eventually had to go up New South Head and turn at the top near Coles Rose bay and come down Old South Head ! I tried to park at Rose Bay shops Dover road toll me ages to get a parking! How on earth is the area going to cope with high rise buildings and more traffic! No thought had been put into this PROJECT

The Project is too big and inconsistent with the developments in the neighbourhood. It will: overpower, overshadow and adversely impact the residences in the neighbourhood; restrict or block light; create excessive traffic in an already over trafficked area in and around Dover Road, by itself and cumulatively with other projects in the immediate vicinity;.
There is provision for 66 cars on site compared to a maximum of 10 in all of the properties to be demolished, exiting onto a single lane road close to a round about which services Traffic in Dover Road, a busy care park and an exit from a cup de sac (Ian Street) where another 8 storey development is being constructed.
The Project will intrude on privacy of residents in surrounding properties beyond the Project site.
The Project is likely also to have an adverse impact on the water table and the substructure by ltself and cumulatively with other projects in the immediate vicinity, through the excavation for 2 basement levels of car packing.
The Project should be reduced in scale with a limit of 4 stories.

My concerns on the proposed planning and in the public interest:
1. Environmental. The Rose Bay area's high flood prone conditions puts the underground stability at risk. This is an area that is reported to be geotechnically fragile and ground-water sensitive.
2. The impact on neighboring properties. Examples of property damage already seen from recent development - namely front of a house collapsing and separately trucks pumping out flooding in deep basements/garages. Further, this intersection is already one of the busiest in Rose Bay and will only worsen traffic congestion.
3. Incompatibility with the Rose Bay streetscape. The proposed scale - An 8-story tower (49 units, 11 "affordable") plus rooftop area not only exceeds the LMR height but is too big and overbearing.

See attached letter