Seniors apartments on Oatlands Golf Club site and memorial approved

A memorial for the ‘four angels’ killed at Oatlands will be built where they lost their lives at the hands of a drugged and drunk driver. The decision comes as a controversial development on the site won approval.

Oatlands has lost its battle against development in the suburb.

A memorial to honour the four children who were killed at Oatlands when a drugged and drunk driver mowed them down will be constructed almost four years after the tragedy.

At its AGM on October 11, 80 per cent of the Oatlands Golf Club board voted to create a memorial for Antony, Angelina and Sienna Abdallah, and their cousin Veronique Sakr, who were killed by driver Samuel Davidson on their way to buying ice cream at Bettington Rd on February 1, 2020.

The club board voted on the memorial this month, shortly before its controversial plans with Mirvac to develop 144 homes on the golf course were approved despite public outcry.

Veronique’s mother Bridget said the garden should be unveiled before what would have been her daughter’s 15th birthday on December 16 and Angelina’s 16th birthday on Christmas Eve.

“I think it’s been done in a way that it’s so tactful, it’s a memorial and people will treat it that way, and it will give people an opportunity to remember their own loved ones,’’ Ms Sakr said.

Antony Abdallah.

Angelina Abdallah.

Sienna Abdallah.

Veronique Sakr.

She said the memorial, which would feature one plinth for each child, should be completed in about eight weeks.

“They haven’t been washed under the carpet and they’re not photos on a fence anymore,’’ she said.

Danny Abdallah agreed the memorial for his children Antony, 13, Angelina, 12, and Sienna, 8, was subtle.

“I was pleased we can move forward now,’’ he said.

“It’s fitting for the kids and it blends with the whole environment - it’s subtle, it’s not out there. It’s just how we wanted it.’’

An artist's impression for the memorial.

Bridget Sakr has welcomed the memorial. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

He said the families worked closely with Mirvac and thanked the board members who voted to support the memorial.

However, while the club will be praised for allowing the memorial, its plans for a sprawling 144-dwelling seniors complex won’t be welcome.

On Monday, the Sydney Central Planning Panel endorsed plans for part of the land at Oatlands Golf Club to be used for multiple units as part of an expansive seniors village.

Parramatta Council has opposed the development at 94 Bettington Rd since Mirvac first submitted plans in 2021.

Architectural drawings of the apartment development inside the Oatlands Golf Course that has come under fire from locals. Picture: NSW Planning Portal

Oatlands residents have spoken out against the apartment blocks to be built alongside the golf course.

The two seven-storey blocks will be built alongside a clubhouse and 399 carpark spaces.

In determining the proposal, the planning panel said the development did not have an adverse impact on the Georgian-inspired Oatlands House, and would benefit seniors.

“The proposal will provide additional housing for seniors and provide greater housing choice in the locality,’’ it stated.

But Parramatta independent councillor Georgina Valjak was the only member of the four-person panel to reject the development.

She said two seven-storey buildings did not fit with the surrounding dwellings and should not have exceeded six storeys.

“It‘s essentially two boxes on a hill,’’ she said.

The development initially proposed 193 dwellings but it was cut to 144.

Cr Valjak also refused the development because it is not one of the council’s growth precincts and lacked infrastructure.

“There are no local services within walking distance of this development hence the reliance of vehicles which will impact surrounding local streets,’’ she said.