Blocking Ritz-Carlton will “switch off” tourism, warns developer

Plans for a $500 million Ritz-Carlton hotel at Pyrmont were blocked based on the proposed height of the building but The Daily Telgraph can reveal more than 15 other buildings in the area already exceed maximum height restrictions.

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Pyrmont already has more than 15 buildings over the 28m maximum height the Planning Department gave as one of its reasons for rejecting a new $500 million Ritz-Carlton hotel.

The decision to refuse The Star’s proposal for a luxury 61-storey hotel has been condemned for “switching off” a badly needed economic and tourism boost for Sydney.

The report knocking back the new tower stated the 28m height restriction for buildings in Pyrmont was “useful as a comparison with the height proposed in the current submission­”.

The proposed Ritz-Carlton tower at The Star Sydney was blocked on height grounds. Picture: Supplied

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But The Daily Telegraph can reveal there are more than 15 buildings in Pyrmont over that height, including five residential towers at Jacksons Landing, with the tallest standing at 75m.

And the maximum height restriction should have no bearing because the new hotel was considered a project of state significance and therefore judged under different rules.

“Pyrmont can take a lot of new development, it is a tourist hub and could be a very exciting area,” Urban Taskforce chief executive Chris Johnson said.

Instead of generating investment and boosting the NSW economy, Mr Johnson said the decision to reject the tower will “switch it off and leave it to snooze away”.

The Ritz-Carlton tower would have brought a six-star hotel to Pyrmont. Picture: Supplied

He singled out Planning Minister Rob Stokes as “an academic” who favoured terrace-style developments of eight storeys or less rather than big Shanghai-style towers. “He is sending a very bad signal to the development industry on what the future is going to be like in NSW,” Mr Johnson said.

Mr Stokes has tried to distance himself from the decision, leaving his department to take responsibility for what appears to be a dramatic U-turn in policy.

The plan appeared to be on track after The Star was issued with NSW Department of Planning secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements for a tall tower almost four years ago.

Planning Minister Rob Stokes has come under fire over the decision to knock back the Ritz-Carlton. Picture: Chris Pavlich

It set up a design excellence panel, with then NSW government architect Peter Poulet, to select the best design. Despite his involvement, and the panel choosing the taller of two final towers and $13 million being spent on the development process, the proposal was rejected by the department last week.

Mr Stokes declined to comment yesterday.

A member of his department scrambled to call The Committee For Sydney on Tuesday for advice on what to do with the precinct but was knocked back because the organisation could not provide an answer quickly enough.

A spokesman for the Department of Planning said: “The department is required by state planning laws to assess each project on its own merits.”