Glenside homebuyers lodge complaint with ACCC over Cedar Woods’ 20-storey tower plan
A group of homebuyers in the eastern suburbs have lodged an ACCC complaint alleging a developer company misled them about a planned 20-storey high-rise.
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A developer company has been accused of breaching consumer law by proposing a 20-storey building in Glenside after selling nearby homes to buyers unaware of the plan.
The Glenside Development Action Group on Monday submitted a complaint to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleging developer Cedar Woods had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in marketing materials and public representations for its $400m Glenside development.
A 20-storey apartment building at the development, proposed in 2024, would become the state’s tallest building outside Adelaide’s CBD if the state government approves a planning code amendment.
The high-rise would be one of the development’s four landmark buildings, ranging from 11 to 20 storeys.
GDAG’s complaint to the ACCC alleges Cedar Woods’ advertising materials between 2015 and 2025 misled consumers by emphasising “a mid-rise, open-space-focused community” in a “unique botanical setting”.
“At no point was a 20-storey high-rise component included in initial public representations or subsequent printed material for nearly ten years,” the GDAG complaint said.
Cedar Woods said it was “not uncommon for planning and design codes to be amended in line with market demands”.
“Cedar Woods believe we have followed appropriate process and will continue to work with the community to achieve the best possible outcome for the site,” a spokesperson said.
GDAG spokesman Craig Pickering said many homebuyers felt “betrayed” by Cedar Woods.
He claimed most of the development’s residents were blindsided by the plan and opposed it, including more than 200 members of GDAG.
“We’re going through decisions like, ‘Do we pull out? Do we stay? What do we do? We’ve already sold our house’,” he said.
More than 1000 homes with a mix of townhouses and apartments are being built across the 16.5ha Glenside development, where the maximum height is 29m – or eight levels.
Planning Minister Nick Champion said in April he would investigate the merits of raising the maximum building height to 73m – or 20 levels, with a final decision yet to be made.
“It’s important as a community we have thoughtful conversations about increasing building heights and densities in strategic sites, such as major urban corridors,” he said in April.
The state government has not yet approved the planning amendment after collecting community feedback between August and October in 2024.
In October, Burnside Council opposed the amendment in a submission to the government, saying the 20-storey building would be “incongruous, visually jarring and may compromise the harmonious natural views” of the parklands.
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