This submission is lodged to formally object to the State Significant Development (SSD) proposal for 100 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag. As a practitioner within the built environment, I find the proposed 11-storey residential towers to be an egregious departure from established urban design principles and a failure to respond to the specific morphological and heritage constraints of the site.

The following points outline the technical and architectural basis for this objection:

1. Incompatibility with Urban Grain and Scale

The proposed massing represents a radical "leap" in building height that bears no relation to the existing or desired future character of the Castlecrag village. The transition from the prevailing low-rise residential envelope to an 11-storey verticality creates a visual jarring that cannot be mitigated through facade treatments or setbacks. I contend that good urban design requires a transition of scale; this proposal offers a vertical protrusion that dominates the ridgeline and disrupts the suburb's unique topography.

2. Erosion of the Griffin Cultural Landscape

The site is situated within a precinct defined by the Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin "landscape-first" philosophy. The architectural merit of Castlecrag lies in its organic integration with the sandstone escarpments and native canopy.

Visual Impact: The tower forms will pierce the established tree line, which currently serves as the dominant horizon.

Heritage Integrity: I believe the scale fundamentally undermines the Griffin Heritage Conservation Area, treating the heritage context as a secondary consideration rather than a primary design driver.

3. Misapplication of Planning Pathways

While the SSD pathway is intended to expedite housing delivery, its application here bypasses local Environmental Planning Instruments (EPIs) without sufficient justification. The site lacks the "Transit-Oriented Development" (TOD) credentials—specifically high-frequency heavy rail access—usually required to justify such significant uplift. Bypassing the local DCP height limits by over 200% without a radical improvement in public benefit or infrastructure capacity represents a failure of the strategic planning framework.

4. Solar Amenity and Microclimate Impacts

The submitted shadow diagrams indicate a significant loss of solar access to the southern residential interface. Furthermore, the introduction of two 11-storey forms on this elevated ridge creates a "wind-tunnel" effect at the street level, compromising the pedestrian comfort of the Edinburgh Road retail strip. I maintain that a four-to-five-storey mixed-use development would achieve modern density targets while maintaining a human-centric microclimate.

5. Deficiency in Public Domain Integration

The proposed ground-floor interface fails to provide high-quality "third spaces." A development of this magnitude should offer a net increase in permeable public green space. Instead, the proposal appears to prioritize private residential yield over a meaningful contribution to the civic heart of Castlecrag.

Recommendation: The application should be refused in its current form. I advocate for a return to a mid-rise typology (4–5 storeys) that respects the Griffin legacy, adheres to the capacity of the local road network, and provides a more sympathetic transition to the surrounding residential context.

I am writring this submission in relation to the original community endorsed 3 storey development that the local community and Willoughby Council had already welcomed and approved. Griffin believed that better suburban environments could be created by careful planning that respected the landscape character of an area itself, together with the provision of community open spaces. A 13-14 storey bulding will undoubtedly change the iconic landscape of Castlecrag and add an increased footprint to the peninsula of: 1. Many more cars, service vehicles etc.
2. Encourage more development of grossly inappropriate scales of residential towers, completely out of step with the landscape and ecology of the area risking the echo systems unique to the areas wildlife, flora and fauna some of which are rare species and in a fragile state.
3. The towers that will cast shadows on areas of Sydney's last remaining ecological corridors and its interconnected habitants. Affect many established residences and the outlook they currently enjoy. The sun-filled gardens and patios and lifestyle areas that enjoy an abundance of light and sunshine will be severely compromised.

In closing, this submission hopefully sends a clear message to the NSW Independent Planning Commission, Willoughby Council and our elected representatives that this community will not be ignored especially when there has been so little consultation from the Developer. Residents who have made contact have been ignored and there has been a lack of transparency with the Castlecrag Progress Association. We supported the original plan for higher density and urge the NSW Government to uphold appropriate planning control for this site.

I have serious concerns about the proposed development and I strongly object to it for the following reasons:

The intersection at Edinburgh Road and Eastern Valley Way is already struggling to handle current traffic volumes. In particular, vehicles attempting to turn right onto northbound Eastern Valley Way experience significant delays. Introducing the level of additional vehicle and pedestrian traffic being proposed would severely impact traffic flow, likely leading to much longer queues along Edinburgh Road, something that already occurs during peak periods. This would make getting in and out of the suburb far more difficult and time consuming. Beyond general inconvenience, this congestion could also hinder access for emergency services.

Castlecrag does not have close access to a train station, and bus services are incredibly infrequent and only reasonably reliable during peak hours. As a result, residents in the proposed development would be heavily dependent on private vehicles, further increasing traffic pressure as outlined above.

While addressing the housing shortage is important, the inclusion of just 10 affordable housing units feels tokenistic and does little to offset what is otherwise a predominantly high-end development.

Castlecrag has a distinct character and heritage. Walter Burley Griffin envisioned a community where buildings harmonise with the natural environment, rather than dominate it. The scale and nature of this proposal run counter to that vision, introducing large structures that would massively overwhelm the area rather than complement it.

The building size and scope is too large for the area. I agree with the idea for mixed commercial and residential space on the site, and the original plan of 5/6 floors from street level seemed appropriate. Castlecrag is a closed off suburb, with little access, and the effects on traffic trying to turn into or from Eastern valley way isn’t supported with this many new residents, and shoppers.

Additionally the nature of the small, town like heritage nature of Castlecrag is at odds with this overly large building. To override the views of the council in this regard and to go through with this mixed use development of this scale, just because of the loophole of state government regulations is abhorrent.

Will be hideous and does not fit the community what’s so ever, we need local businesses not grey apartment blocks with a big franchise row

As someone who has spent almost the entirety of their life in Castlecrag, I strongly object to this proposal. Not only does it compromise the beautiful and historic character of Castlecrag as a suburb that centres nature, it also presents many practical challenges which will destroy its desireability as a place to live.

First and foremost, Castlecrag is a suburb that is charming precisely because of its abundance of greenspace, and the feeling of being far from the city despite that not being the case. Many homes are heritage, and nature reserves are ubiquitous. It feels like an oasis in busy Sydney, and this is why the residents love and value it. In a world where nature, so fundamental to wellbeing, environmental sustainability and community, is being increasingly devalued, Castlecrag stands apart. This proposal threatens this very value. A building of so many storeys and so imposing completely ruins this feature, at the very entrance to our suburb. It completely destroys this sensation of calm and escape. This cannot be undervalued, as to lose this would be to lose what Castlecrag means to so many, and what makes it a desirable place to live.

It makes no practical sense to put such a large development on Edinburgh Road, given it is the only road that moves into Castlecrag. Having so many people live in this space will create so much traffic, creating immense pressure that Castlecrag's infrastructure and geography cannot accommodate. This will affect the whole suburb, given its layout. It is frankly preposterous to think that such a development on the site can work practically, for current residents of Castlecrag, and also those who would live in the development.

I would like to conclude that I think this development does not reflect the legacy of Walter Burley Griffin, but in fact disrespects it. The suburb that he designed with care and compassion, which placed such emphasis on practical design and integration with the natural environment, is at risk of becoming something else entirely.

As a young person who has concerns about the housing crisis, I understand the impulse to expand housing, particularly that that is affordable. However, this development harms more than it does help. There are better ways that we can address this issue, without destroying the character, history and quality of life associated with Castlecrag. A development like this cannot be allowed, and I sincerely hope that it will be rejected.

Please see attached

6 May 2026


Objection to Proposed mixed use development at 100 Edinburgh Road , Castlecrag

I object to the proposal, SSD-90134958, which will increase the scale of the development at 100 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag enormously to the detriment of the local community.
The proposed development:
>will overshadow many resident's homes, remove their sunlight access, destroy their amenity, and diminish their property value. >will generate significant extra traffic that will choak many streets within the suburb;
>contravenes the Willoughby Council planning controls, and
>conflicts with the unique heritage values of Castlecrag and the Griffin philosophy of buildings being subservient to the landscape.

I ask that SSD-90134958 proposal be rejected.
Yours faithfully
Margaret de la Motte

These two towers look fantastic, they should be approved. We need a lot more housing and castlecrag is one of the biggest offenders of the housing crisis by failing to build more homes for Greater Sydney. It has become obscenely expensive due to a lack of supply. This will bring community members back into their community, or downsizing and freeing up their family homes similarly.

The social impact report notes a large number of homes have 2 or more bedrooms in the area. It also showed an enourmous 38% of dwellings are family sized units, this is unheard of for an area lacking units. It took Chatswood over a decade of developing 90% smaller units, before 3 bed units started being proposed in meaningful numbers (40%) in the last 3 years due to meeting demand of smaller ones.

The visible impact photos looked fine, there is plenty of sunlight in this area thanks to decently wide streets and setbacks.

The proposed development by Conquest of 100 Edinburgh Road Castlecrag is a complete disgrace in its disregard for the site, the community, the history of the suburb and future of the suburb.

The proposed building is completely out of scale with the suburb and surrounding buildings, it would be the tallest structure in surrounding area and dwarf homes, culturally significant local sites and create traffic chaos. Castlecrag is not a transport hub and has limited local roads and bus routes. it already experiences traffic jams getting in and out of the suburb and numerous accidents occur at the main traffic lights with heavy traffic trying to get out at peak times. It is already hard to park in Castlecrag and with the influx of cars caused by the massive site would create further stress and chaos.

The proposed building is ugly and totally not suited to the environment and lacks any design integrity or value. it will simply detract from the area and divide a community. The developers have been extremely poor communicators with the community and are simply trying to railroad the community into accepting an ugly huge building to make as much money for themselves as possible without consideration.

A perfectly good and approved design is available and ready to go. Conquest should honour that design and build it.