I object on the basis that the proponent's Traffic Impact Assessment does not provide a valid representation of the traffic that will be generated (not done according to DPHI guidelines) and no traffic modelling is performed. Traffic from dominantly this but also nearby developments will likely overwhelm Albert Ave, and require remedial action. The development should be paused until traffic issues are addressed. See attachment for full discussion and a working of the traffic implications

I am a long term resident of the Sebel building in Chatswood and wish to formally object to the proposed State Significant Development at 61A–65 Albert Avenue (Mandarin Centre redevelopment), Willoughby City.

This proposal raises serious concerns across multiple areas, including traffic congestion, loss of natural light and views, impacts on mental wellbeing, and potential wind tunneling effects.

Firstly, traffic conditions in the surrounding streets—particularly Victor Street and Albert Avenue—are already at an unacceptable level. During peak hours and weekends, congestion is severe. I have personally experienced delays of over 15 minutes just to exit my car park onto Victor Street. On another occasion, it took more than 15 minutes to travel from Albert Avenue to Victor Street. The situation is often chaotic and unsafe, with instances of multiple vehicles attempting three-point turns simultaneously due to gridlock. The proposed development will significantly increase traffic volumes in an already overburdened road network, with no clear evidence that the infrastructure can accommodate this increase.

Secondly, the development will have a substantial impact on natural light and views for surrounding residents. In particular, the south-facing units of the Sebel building—comprising over 100 apartments—will experience a dramatic reduction in natural light. Access to natural light is a fundamental aspect of residential amenity.

Thirdly, the cumulative effect of increased density, reduced light, and loss of openness is negatively impacting residents’ mental wellbeing. These environmental factors are critical to quality of life, especially in high-density urban settings. The proposed development risks increasing stress levels and diminishing overall living conditions for existing residents.

Finally, the proposal raises serious concerns regarding wind tunneling. The minimal separation between buildings suggests a high likelihood of strong wind corridor effects, which can create uncomfortable and potentially unsafe conditions for pedestrians and residents. There has been no clear wind impact modelling provided, nor any meaningful discussion of mitigation strategies. This represents a significant oversight for a development of this scale.

In summary, the proposal fails to adequately address its impacts on traffic, residential amenity, environmental conditions, and community wellbeing. I strongly urge the relevant authorities to reject this application or require substantial modifications to mitigate these serious concerns.

I am a resident of Sebel at 37 Victor St the proposed building will be in close proximity directed to both our bedrooms. This will block the sunlight of both bedrooms and privacy concerns we won’t be able to open our blinds at all.

Also, this will be a huge impact to the local traffic as it already takes us 10 mins to get into Victor street during weekends and public holidays this will cause a much higher traffic even during normal times if they are proposing for both residential and retail expansion with a few more hundred additional cars traveling between Victor and Albert st which will cause a lot more traffic congestion 24/7.

My concerns are as follows:

1. Privacy Impacts
The proposed development includes a tall-rise building in extremely close proximity to The Sebel, where I reside. This raises significant privacy concerns, as the height and positioning of the new structure will likely result in direct overlooking into existing residential apartments. Such an outcome would substantially diminish residents’ sense of privacy and negatively impact our quality of life.

2. Overpopulation and Density Concerns
Chatswood is already a highly dense urban area, and existing infrastructure is under considerable strain. The addition of another large-scale development will further exacerbate:

Traffic congestion in surrounding streets
Overcrowding on public transport networks
Pressure on local schools, which are already facing capacity constraints

Without clear and sufficient upgrades to infrastructure and services, this development risks significantly reducing the livability of the area.

3. Wind and Microclimate Impacts
The concentration of tall buildings around Chatswood Station has already created noticeable wind tunnel effects at street level. Introducing another high-rise structure in such close proximity is likely to intensify these conditions, resulting in stronger and more uncomfortable winds for pedestrians. This can reduce safety and amenity in public spaces, particularly for elderly residents, children, and commuters.

4. Noise and Construction Impacts
The proposed development is expected to involve a lengthy construction period, which will significantly impact nearby residents through persistent noise, dust, and general disruption. In addition, once completed, the increased density and activity associated with the development are likely to result in ongoing elevated noise levels, further affecting residential amenity.

5. Cultural Impact
The Mandarin Centre holds cultural significance for Chinese Australians in the Chatswood area and has long served as an important community and social hub. Its loss would represent not only the removal of a commercial space but also the erosion of local cultural identity and heritage. This impact should be carefully considered in the assessment of the proposal.

6. Emergency Services Access and Safety
The increase in density associated with this development raises concerns regarding emergency services access. Additional congestion and crowding may hinder timely access for emergency vehicles. Furthermore, higher population density within closely clustered high-rise buildings may increase evacuation risks and complicate emergency response in critical situations.

Re: Objection to Proposed Mandarin Centre Redevelopment

I am writing to formally object to the proposed redevelopment of the Mandarin Centre. My objection is based on several significant concerns regarding the impact of the development on traffic, public amenity, residential living conditions, and compliance with planning guidelines.
I have taken information supplied to me as well as reading the current redevelopment application.

1. Traffic Congestion
Victor St is a dead-end Street already has cars from current residential apartments, the already approved NOVUS tower, a kiss-and-ride zone, and for vehicles accessing the Chatswood markets, causing severe congestion and safety concerns for any traffic, well as for the many pedestrians using Victor St.
Vehicles trying to turn into Victor St or exiting onto Albert Ave are frequently caught at the traffic lights. Introducing additional vehicle access to this Victor St would virtually make it unusable and very dangerous, especially during peak hours.
Victor St cannot handle any further redevelopments car access and any new entrance would need to be located elsewhere.
Traffic studies submitted do not take into account the time when the current congestion is at its worse which would peak hours in the mornings and afternoons.

2. Loss of Natural Light
The proposed development will have a substantial impact on the natural light to all apartments on the south facing apartments of the Sebel building.
I have been informed that the NSW Apartment Design Guide outlines minimum expectations for natural light access in residential buildings. The proposed height and insufficient setback between the two buildings raise serious concerns about compliance with these standards.
Also, there has been no modelling (overshadowing diagram) provided to assess the extent of this impact on existing residents, which is a critical omission.

3. Privacy and Safety Issues
Because of the inadequate setbacks, I have very serious concerns for the privacy and safety of our apartments and its residents as the development will have windows directly looking into bedrooms and private spaces.
Personally my young granddaughter could be exposed to people looking directly into her bedroom and I am worried for her privacy and safety.
I have also been informed that Section 2F of the NSW Apartment Design Guide specifies a minimum separation distance of 24 metres between habitable rooms and balconies of adjacent residential buildings. The current proposal does not demonstrate compliance with this requirement, indicating a clear breach of established planning guidelines.

3. Overshadowing of Chatswood Oval and Childrens Playground
I know that there will be considerable overshadowing of Chatswood Oval which would be disappointing for sporting teams, but the depriving of natural light and sunshine to the playground for children must not happen. Chatswood already has very little open play space for our young children so existing spaces need to be protected.

4. Wind Tunnelling Effects
Developments of this scale, particularly those with minimal separation distances, commonly generate wind tunnelling effects that can negatively impact pedestrian comfort and safety, as well as residential amenity.
If one was to look at the highway side of Victoria Ave. you would know that it is very cold and windy.
There has been no wind impact assessment provided, nor any strategies to address potential wind effects. This shows proposal has little consideration of environmental and human impacts.

Conclusion.
In its current form, the proposed redevelopment raises serious concerns regarding serious traffic management, environmental impacts, residential safety and privacy, and compliance with curent planning controls.
I request that the proposal be reconsidered and that these issues be thoroughly addressed through appropriate design revisions, impact assessments, adherence to planning guidelines, and community consultation.

Victor Street is a no-through road with significant traffic congestion due to the presence of:
- 3 residential apartment blocks, including the recently approved build-to-rent NOVUS tower
- kiss-and-ride zone for dropoff to local train station
- thoroughfare for vehicles needing to access the main boulevard (common due to market stalls)
The traffic congestion for Victor and Albert streets is frequently a bottleneck with no cars being able to enter
/ exit Victor St within the timing of a traffic light change.
We propose that any potential redevelopment to include a clause to ensure the carpark entrance is not on
Victor Street.
2) Shadowing of Chatswood Oval
Chatswood oval is the only significant public green space in the central district of Chatswood. It is frequently
used by families as well as local sporting clubs (rugby, cricket etc).
The proposed height of the mandarin centre development will cause overshadowing of the oval which will
impact on its usability.
There are no other suitable public green spaces in Chatswood that can replace the oval.
3) Blockage of Natural Light
The south facing units of the Sebel building (over 100) will have a dramatic impact on loss of natural light into the units
apartments. The proposed height and setback distance between the 2 buildings will certainly impact on light.
There has been no modelling to determine impact on the residents of the Sebel.
4) Privacy Concerns
The design photos show a very short setback distance between the proposed Mandarin Centre
redevelopment and The Sebel. This will result in the south-facing residents of The Sebel and the north-facing
residents of the Mandarin Centre redevelopment both having significant privacy concerns - being able to
look clearly into each others apartments.
Section 2F of the Apartment Design Guide (NSW Gov - Planning and Development) states that 2 apartment
residential buildings requires a separation distance of 24 metres between habitable rooms and balconies.
This has not been shown to be the case in the proposed redevelopment - this is in violation of the guidelines.
5) Wind Tunnelling
Tall buildings with minimal separation distance results in significant wind tunnelling. There has been no
modelling to show the effects of this, and similarly no discussion on strategies to minimise the impact of wind
tunnelling on pedestrians and residents.
We encourage all owners to send a submission into the NSW government planning portal to oppose the
redevelopment of the Mandarin Centre in its current proposed design. Please feel free to add in any further
reasons you feel appropriate in your submissions (bearing in mind the government does not consider loss of
views / value as valid reasons for objection).

The proposed mixed use tower is much larger than the Sebel tower and will cast a shadow over the neighboring residential apartments at Sebel. It will significantly lower the value of our unit, cause us to lose our existing view towards Sydney in the south, entirely, and will cause untold disruption and further congestion to a street that is already very crowded and congested. My family and I have been in the building since it was built and we vehemently oppose the current plans for the development of the Mandarin Center.

OBJECTION TO STATE SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION SSD-85024458
Proposed Redevelopment of 61A–65 Albert Avenue, Chatswood (Mandarin Centre)
Address: 37 Victor Street, Chatswood NSW 2067
Date: 8th April 2026

1. My Interest in This Application
- I am the owner of an Apartment in 37 Victor Street, Chatswood NSW 2067 — the Sebel Residences building, which directly adjoins the Mandarin Centre site along Victor Street.
- This apartment has been in my family since it was completed, and I have a direct, immediate, and material interest in the outcome of this application.
- My apartment is on the 10th floor with southern-facing city views that are directly in line with the proposed 32-storey tower.
- Approval of this development will permanently extinguish those views and materially reduce the value of my apartment.
- I am directly and severely affected by this proposal and I strongly object to it in its entirety, including the concurrent rezoning request.

2. Height, Bulk & Scale
- The proposed 32-storey tower directly opposite my building on Victor Street will completely dominate the outlook of my apartment and those of hundreds of other residents at 37 Victor Street.
- The Sebel Residences at 37 Victor Street is a 28-storey building. A taller tower immediately across a narrow street creates an oppressive canyon effect, eliminating natural light, airflow, and outlook for residents on southern-facing floors.
- The concurrent rezoning seeks to increase the maximum floor space ratio from 2.5:1 to 11.11:1 and the maximum building height from 27m to RL 192.90 — an extraordinary and unjustified departure from the planning controls established under the Willoughby LEP 2012.
- The applicant’s argument that current controls “no longer reflect market conditions” is not a valid planning reason to override democratically established height and density limits. Commercial viability is the applicant’s problem, not a basis for rewriting the planning framework.
- No adequate justification has been provided for the scale of departure from existing controls, and the impacts on immediately adjoining residents like me have not been adequately assessed or mitigated.

3. Loss of Views
- My apartment at level 10, 37 Victor Street has established southern city views.
- The Mandarin Centre site at 61A–65 Albert Avenue sits directly to the south of my building on Victor Street. The proposed 32-storey tower will rise directly in line with my southern outlook and permanently extinguish these views.
Loss of established views from a residential property is a recognised amenity impact under NSW planning law and must be given full weight in this assessment.
- The permanent and irreversible nature of this impact — with no possibility of mitigation once construction is complete — makes this a critical consideration that the Department must not minimise.

4. Overshadowing & Privacy
- The massing of a 32-storey tower on the southern side of Victor Street will cast significant shadow over my apartment and the entire Sebel Residences building for extended periods each day, particularly during winter months.
- The proposal also includes a site-specific clause to permit additional overshadowing of Chatswood Oval between 11am and 12:15pm. If the applicant is already seeking planning carve-outs for a public park, the overshadowing impacts on adjoining private residences will be at least as severe.
- Hundreds of apartments in the proposed tower will have direct sightlines into my apartment across the narrow width of Victor Street — a severe and permanent loss of privacy that is unacceptable.
- I do not accept the applicant’s own shadow diagrams and modelling as independent or sufficient. I request that the Department commission independent peer review of all shadow and amenity modelling before any assessment is made.

5. Traffic & Parking

- Victor Street is already chronically congested, particularly around the existing Mandarin Centre access points and the Albert Avenue intersection. As an owner of 37 Victor Street, I have experienced the daily difficulty of entering and exiting my building due to existing traffic volumes on Victor Street.
- The proposed development will add 325 apartments, a four-level retail podium, and 444 basement car spaces to this site, dramatically worsening traffic, delivery, and service vehicle movements on Victor Street.
- Victor Street is a narrow local street that has no capacity to absorb this additional load. No independent traffic impact assessment has been provided that credibly models the cumulative impacts with other approved and proposed developments already underway in the Chatswood CBD.
- Construction vehicle access over what is likely to be a multi-year build will regularly render Victor Street impassable for residents of my building, with no adequate management plan proposed.

6. Noise & Amenity
- The proposed development includes a rooftop workout space and co-working facilities that will generate ongoing noise directly opposite residential apartments in the Sebel building at all hours.
- Mechanical plant, car park exhaust, retail servicing vehicles, and loading dock activity immediately across Victor Street from my apartment will cause continuous noise and air quality impacts on residents of 37 Victor Street.
- Construction noise and vibration from demolition and build works immediately adjacent to my home will be severe. Construction is proposed to commence in Q2 2027, and a project of this scale is likely to involve several years of disruption.
- The application does not adequately address noise attenuation measures or provide a credible construction management plan that protects the amenity of existing residents during construction.

7. Infrastructure Capacity
- The total gross floor area of 48,273sqm proposed on a 3,524sqm site represents an extraordinary density. Stormwater, sewer, water, and electrical infrastructure capacity for a development of this scale has not been independently verified.
- Victor Street and the surrounding road network are already operating at or near capacity during peak periods. The cumulative infrastructure impact of this development, together with other approved and proposed developments in the Chatswood CBD, has not been assessed holistically.
- The Department must require independent infrastructure capacity assessments — not applicant-commissioned reports — before any approval is considered.

8. Environmental Impact
- Complete demolition of the existing centre and construction of a 32-storey tower will significantly increase the impervious footprint, worsen stormwater runoff, and eliminate any remaining green space and tree canopy on this site.
- The urban heat island effect in this already densely developed precinct will be meaningfully worsened by the loss of green space and the scale of hard surfaces proposed.
- The environmental impact assessment submitted by the applicant must be independently peer-reviewed. Applicant-commissioned assessments should not be accepted at face value for a development of this significance.

9. The Rezoning Precedent
- I strongly object to the concurrent rezoning component of this application, which seeks to remove the FSR cap, lift height controls, and create a bespoke overshadowing clause for a single private developer.
- Granting a site-specific rezoning of this nature will set a deeply concerning precedent for the entire Chatswood CBD. Every other landowner in the precinct will be entitled to seek equivalent departures from planning controls — the cumulative impact on the suburb will be irreversible.
- The planning framework under the Willoughby LEP 2012 and the Chatswood CBD Strategy exists to protect existing residents and the character of the community. It should not be dismantled on a site-by-site basis at a private developer’s request, regardless of the scale of the proposed investment.
- The assessment of this application will carry broader implications for future housing and built form outcomes across the Chatswood CBD and must be treated accordingly.

10. Conclusion & Requests
- I strongly urge the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure to refuse SSD-85024458 in its entirety, including the concurrent rezoning request.
- The impacts on my property — including permanent loss of city views, material reduction in value, severe overshadowing, loss of privacy, traffic congestion, construction disruption, and noise — are irreversible and have not been adequately addressed by the applicant.
- The proposed departures from existing planning controls are unjustified and the precedent effects for the Chatswood CBD are deeply concerning.

I make the following specific requests:
- That I be provided with written notification of all assessment milestones, any Design Review Panel or planning panel meetings, and the final determination of this application.
- That the Department commission independent peer review of all shadow diagrams, traffic impact assessments, environmental impact assessments, and infrastructure capacity reports submitted by the applicant.
- That the concurrent rezoning request be assessed as a separate and distinct matter, with full community consultation, and not be bundled with the development application for expedited approval.

As a resident of Victor Street, I object to the proposed Mandarin Centre redevelopment. The proposal raises multiple concerns that, in my view, have not been satisfactorily dealt with in the application materials.
Unacceptable Loss of Light to The Sebel — The redesigned scheme has eliminated the gap between the two tower forms that existed in the earlier approved version. That opening, however modest, at least allowed some natural light to reach the more than 100 south-facing units in The Sebel. What is now proposed is a continuous built barrier that will effectively shut out daylight from these apartments altogether. The NSW Apartment Design Guide under Section 2C sets out expectations for solar access to residential dwellings.
Wind Channelling Has Not Been Considered — Two tall buildings standing close together with limited space between them will inevitably produce strong wind effects at ground level and through the gap.
Victor Street is Already at Breaking Point — I live on Victor Street and witness daily how overwhelmed this road is. It is a no-through road that somehow has to cope with traffic from surrounding apartment buildings, a commuter pick-up and drop-off zone beside the station, shoppers accessing the nearby centre, and vendors loading and unloading for the Victoria Avenue markets. The proposal to route the development's car park entry and exit via Victor Street would add a significant and dangerous volume of vehicle movements to a street that already cannot cope.
The Oval Will Suffer — Chatswood Oval is not a park that can be easily replaced. Local families treat it as their backyard, children use it as their playground, and it is the home ground for community rugby and cricket. The height of the proposed development will cast extensive shadow across the oval, cutting into the sunlight that makes it inviting and usable. Trading away the amenity of this communal space to accommodate a private tower is not a fair outcome for the people of Chatswood.
Privacy Standards Have Been Ignored — What concerns me most is how little regard the proposal shows for the privacy of both existing and future residents. The NSW Apartment Design Guide, at Section 2F, requires a 25-metre minimum separation between habitable rooms and balconies of neighbouring residential buildings. The plans make it clear this distance has not been provided. People living in The Sebel's south-facing units and those in the new building's north-facing apartments would have no visual buffer whatsoever — they would be living in each other's line of sight day and night. These standards were created by the NSW Government because adequate separation matters. If the government's own guidelines are to mean anything at all, they must be enforced. Approving a development that openly contravenes so many of its own design requirements would send a troubling message about the integrity of the planning framework.