Byron Bay: Scott Didier lopped a storey off his mansion on Wategos Beach

Just being uber-wealthy doesn’t mean you get to build whatever you want in Byron Bay. Just ask business mogul Scott Didier. He had to lose an entire storey off his proposed dream house just to keep his equally wealthy neighbours happy.

When business mogul Scott Andrew Didier wanted to build his dream beach house at Byron Bay, he had to make a few sacrifices — like lopping off a whole storey — to appease the local council and his wealthy neighbours.

Mr Didier’s company, Trump Investments, bought one of the properties on Brownell Drive, which is just a stone’s throw from the playground of the rich and beautiful, Wategos Beach.

Property records do not say how much the property costs, but estimates put it between $4-$5 million.

But it is in one of Australia’s best locations given its boundary line is on the Byron Lighthouse walking track in the Cape Byron State Conservation Area.

Trump Investments put a development application before Byron Shire Council to knock down the existing property to replace it with a new dwelling with a swimming pool at an estimated cost of $3.3 million.

The Byron Bay property Scott Didier wants to renovate. Picture: Google

The multimillion-dollar property is not far from Wategos Beach.

The development included a three-storey, five bedroom home topped off with a “four vehicle stacked garage with lift at rear”, according to council documents.

The proposed development also featured a sauna, pool, powder room and multiple balconies, the documents said.

The Council rejected the application on March 13, 2019.

One of the reasons included objections from Mr Didier’s equally wealthy neighbours.

These included neighbours, advertising guru John Preston and members of the Foggo family, who paid $7.01 million and $5.25 million for their properties in mid-2020.

Mr Didier fought the council’s refusal in the NSW Land and Environment Court.

Business mogul Scott Didier went to the Land and Environment Court after the council refused his development plans.

On December 17, Acting Commissioner Paul Adam presided over a conciliation conference between Mr Didier’s side and the objectors at the site.
Mr Didier’s representatives “emphasised the diversity of appearance of the dwelling houses and the necessity, given the steep topography, of extensive excavation needed to construct new buildings into the slope within each site”.

The conference continued on December 23 where Mr Didier’s representatives came armed with new plans that featured one less storey on the house.

In delivering judgment on the case on Monday, Commissioner Adam told the court the deletion of the storey “addressed” the council’s concerns.

Commissioner Adam granted conditional approval to the development.

The property is not the first splash Mr Didier’s company has made in the hot Byron Bay market in recent years.

On January 11, 2018, his company paid $23 million for the “Beach Suites Byron Bay” commercial site on Bay St.