Ritz-Carlton hotel: Debate rages at City of Sydney
Councillors have questioned spending $54,000 of ratepayers money of a full-page newspaper ad against the Ritz-Carlton hotel, as tensions were raised at the City of Sydney on Monday night.
Central Sydney
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City of Sydney councillors have clashed over the controversial Ritz-Carlton tower proposal, as one likened the planning battle to a fight for Sydney’s soul.
Hours after Premier Gladys Berejiklian ordered a review of Pyrmont’s planning controls as debate rages over the $500 million plan, Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the issue struck at the heart of “the credibility of the planning system”.
Cr Moore said it was “totally misleading” for The Star to refer to its project as merely a hotel, as plans include 204 “luxury” apartments across 35 levels with 22 stories of hotel accommodation on top.
“The Independent Planning Commission must uphold the Planning Department’s decision (to recommend against the project) to restore confidence in the system for all,” she said at Monday night’s council meeting.
However, Liberal councillor Christine Forster snapped back at Cr Moore, accusing her of “ignoring” the jobs and tourism the project would bring to the city.
Despite the council’s objection being focused on the fact the proposal’s 237m height would be eight times over the area’s limit, Cr Forster said Pyrmont was an “ideal spot” for a new hotel.
“You’re ignoring the fact Sydney is a global city and should have tall iconic buildings,” she said.
Architect and councillor Philip Thalis lashed the project, calling it a “craven exploitation of our city”.
Cr Thalis said the Premier’s intervention in the issue did not in “any way shape or form equate to the public interest … it is the exact opposite of the public interest”.
“It’s a scandal, let’s not beat about the bush. These casinos are a sell out of the city’s soul, they’re a sell out of the people of NSW,” he said.
Tensions also flared about Cr Moore’s motion to spend more than $54,000 on publishing an open letter to the chair of the Independent Planning Commission as a full-page add in the Sydney Morning Herald later this month, with councillors Kerryn Phelps and Angela Vithoulkas questioning the outlay of ratepayers’ money.
Cr Phelps asked to read the ad before “we commit $60,000 of ratepayers’ money to it”, while Cr Vithoukas was worried the move amounted to an attention-seeking excercise.
“I feel like it’s a little bit of a vanity project,” she said.
Councillor Jess Scully compared the council paying for the ad to David arming himself with a rock in his battle with Biblical giant Goliath.
“If we can arm David with that rock, I think we should,” she said.
Cr Moore defended the move, calling it a “small price to pay … to let the people of Sydney know what’s going on”.
