Woollahra Council to determine teal MP Allegra Spender’s $748k mansion redevelopment plans

Teal MP Allegra Spender is set to get the green light to add a wine cellar, sunroom and two bathrooms to a ritzy eastern suburbs abode she inherited from her fashion icon mother.

A teal MP is set to get the green light to add a new wine cellar, sunroom and two bathrooms to her eastern suburbs mansion.

Council staff have recommended that Wentworth MP Allegra Spender be given approval to expand her harbour-facing Woollahra property, which she inherited from her late mother and fashion icon Carla Zampatti.

Development plans show the $748,000 home renovation project will also include a courtyard, kitchen upgrades and rooftop solar panels.

Plans stated the development would “improve the functionality” of the three-level house while retaining the “important and significant architectural fabric” of the home, which dates back to the 1930s.

Plans for the site were lodged with Woollahra Council after Ms Spender took ownership of the house from her late mother, who bought the place back in 1975 for $220,000.

A concept image of the proposed home redevelopment.

The average house price in Woollahra is now worth more than 20 times that, averaging $4.6m

A heritage study for the development notes the Mediterranean-style house has social significance as the former residence of Ms Zampatti, who founded her own fashion label and was recognised as a titan in the industry throughout her career.

The Woollahra property.

Plans for the development, which is set to be determined by the Woollahra Local Planning Panel at a meeting next week, said it would “enhance the amenity” of the home for occupants without adversely impacting the significance of the building.

“The outcome is a modernised dwelling of exceptional design quality which displays a highly articulated building form,” the plans stated.

But the plans have not all been smooth sailing, with the proposal facing resistance from some neighbours due to concerns over the potential loss of views across Sydney Harbour.

However, a Woollahra Council assessment report found the proposed works had been scaled back to ensure views were not impacted.

Allegra Spender lodged the plans with the council earlier this year.

The house dates back to the 1930s.

Plans show the development would stand 10.34m tall – a breach of the council’s 9.5m limit – mainly due to the addition of solar panels on the roof.

But the council stated its assessment of the works had found there was a “sufficient environmental planning grounds” to justify the height limit breach.

“The character of development as revised is consistent with the character of the existing significant item dwelling and the surrounding pattern area,” the council report stated.

Allegra Spender’s property.

The pending approval comes weeks after Ms Spender gave a National Press Club address, calling for increased urban housing density to address the nation’s dwelling shortage.

“I support housing of all different shapes and sizes, but it has to work for the community,” she said.