Please see the attached document for additional information and expansion on the listed points
1) Dead and Inactive Edge Conditions on the Ground Floor and Lack of Passive Surveillance
2) A building so tall that it challenges the natural landscape, Glenrock State Conservation Area, Charlestown and the Great Dividing Ranges
3)Socio-spatial Stratification - Baked in Inequality by Design and Purpose
4)Unequitable Distribution of Affordable Housing in the Region
5)Poor Quality of Submission and Multiple Inconsistencies
6) Lack of Genuine Community Consultation over the Proposed Tallest Building in Newcastle LGA
7)Lack of Acid Sulphate Soil Management and Environmental Risk Assessment
8)Unprecedented Emergency Response Requirements and Reliance on Performance-Based Fire Solutions
9)Misleading Visualisations and Unrealistic Landscape Representation
10) Failure to Deliver Meaningful Public Domain Improvements
11)Need for a Dedicated Community Liaison Officer and Independent Compliance Officer During Construction

Dear Assessment Officer,

I work in hospitality here in Wickham, so I'm around the area most days and see how busy it already gets. I'm writing to object to the proposed 43-storey development at 10 Dangar Street.

My main concern is the aviation and crane risk. I don't think the application has properly addressed this. It's not enough to say a tower can physically be built—the developer needs to show they've actually worked through the safety implications for the area around it.

Beyond that, I'm also worried about what this height and scale will do to the existing character of Wickham and the Newcastle Interchange precinct. The heritage and townscape issues add to my concerns that this application just isn't ready to be approved as it stands.

I'm not against new housing. We need more of it in the right places. But we shouldn't be trading off genuine safety risks or leaving flood, traffic, wind, and infrastructure problems unresolved just to get buildings up faster.

Dear Assessment Officer,

I work in retail in Wickham and I'm writing to object to the 43-storey development proposed for 10 Dangar Street.

My main concern is the construction impacts. I don't think the applicant has adequately shown that a building this size can be built without causing real problems for Wickham, Newcastle West and the Newcastle Interchange area. It's not just about whether they can technically build it — it's about whether they've actually demonstrated this will be a fair, safe and reasonable outcome for the community.

The construction phase worries me because of how it will affect the precinct while work is happening. On top of that, the hotel pick-ups and drop-offs add another layer of disruption that hasn't been properly thought through. These aren't small issues.

Given how large this proposal is, I think the consent authority needs to take a careful, evidence-based approach here. That means not approving this unless someone independent has properly reviewed these problems and confirmed they can be resolved.

Dear Assessment Officer,

I'm writing to object to the 43-storey development proposed at 10 Dangar Street, Wickham. I run a small business in the area and I have real concerns about whether this application should go ahead as it stands.

The main issue for me is the affordable housing component. The public benefit being offered needs to be backed up by actual legal commitments — specifics around how long the affordable units stay affordable, how rents are set, who manages them, and whether what's being offered actually matches the scale of what the developer is getting out of this. Right now it reads too vague. The community shouldn't have to absorb an impact this size on the basis of promises that aren't locked down.

Beyond that, this section of Wickham is already dealing with a lot of pressure. Traffic is heavy, public transport is stretched, and the streets are busier than they used to be. Stacking another massive development on top of what's already happening here adds real cumulative strain. I'm not convinced the assessment has properly factored in what that actually means for the area.

The application keeps pointing to proximity to the interchange and generic talk about housing need. That's not enough. What matters is what this specific building does to Wickham, Newcastle West and the precinct we work in — and I don't think that's been honestly assessed.

serious concerns that need to be addressed before it can move forward.

My main worry is about heritage and townscape. Wickham has real character, and the Newcastle Interchange precinct has heritage items that matter to the area's identity. A building this tall, with the way the podium and tower are being designed, will change how those heritage places look and feel. The application hasn't properly shown how it will manage that impact. This isn't something that can be sorted out later in the design phase—it's fundamental to whether the proposal should be approved at all.

I'm also concerned about the visual impact. Right now the applicant is making broad claims about managing it, but there's no clear evidence. We need actual drawings that show what this will look like from different vantage points, specific conditions that will be enforced, and real commitments about how they'll operate—not just vague statements of intent.

The scale of what's being asked for here is enormous compared to what's currently allowed in the planning framework. Before the community accepts that kind of departure, the applicant needs to provide proper evidence and binding commitments. We shouldn't have to take things on faith.

I've lived and worked in Wickham as an artist for many years, and what worries me most is the visual impact this tower will have. A building of this height will fundamentally change the skyline we see from Wickham, Honeysuckle, Newcastle West and the harbour edge. It's not something that can be tidied up with tweaks later—it's a core issue about whether this development should go ahead at all in its current form.

The parking shortfall is another major problem. The application doesn't adequately explain how this will actually work. I need to see concrete drawings and clear operational commitments, not just vague statements that it'll be managed somehow.

Please find attached my submission.

We live in Newcastle not New York. The height of this building is off the scale even compared to the new developments, The Store and Dairy Farmers which it will dwarf. It does not fit in with any part of the city skyline. We cannot even be sure how tall it really will be as there are different heights on different parts of the application.
Wickham is an old suburb with narrow one way streets. Someone in their wisdom closed the Railway St exit to Hunter Street so that the only exit to the south is down Throsby St. It is congested at peak traffic times now. Parking Wickham is a nightmare as most units in the area have 1 parking space and 2 vehicles. Older houses have no off street parking. The development does not fit in with the Wickham Village Plan.
No evidence of substrata safety. The site has already proved unstable and that was for a much smaller building. We don't want a 43 story building collapsing onto the suburb or the station.
Who will oversee the construction of this massive tower? We know first hand about the regulators not regulating resulting in shoddy and unsafe buildings.
Does the city's emergency services have the capability of dealing with an emergency in a building so large?
Can the aged sewer, water and electricity infrastructure cope with a development as large as this especially with The Store and Dairy Farmers coming on line. Wickham floods is heavy rain events.
There are already numerous empty ground floor commercial spaces in the new residential blocks along Honeysuckle and businesses there fail regularly. We don't need more empty commercial spaces especially around the station which attracts homeless people.
I am concerned that the development will lead to even greater social divide. The size and number of apartments plus hotel should be in a park or somewhere where people have green space, easier access by cars. Charles, Station, Wickham and Bishopsgate Streets already struggle to work with current traffic loads. Garbage collection is also a challenge in the narrow streets. How do we know the owners of the building won't use the car parking for private income or let another company lease it and not use it for parking for residents and hotel guests?
these are just some of my concerns. Sandra Anderberg