Cherrybrook Development: Hills Shire Council decides fate of 61 tower proposals
A group of councillors and development mogul, Jean Nassif have come to blows over plans to build thousands of apartments in Sydney’s northwest during a council meeting overnight.
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Two developers’ ambitious vision to transform dozens of homes in Cherrybrook and West Pennant Hills into 61 residential buildings and 4100 apartments have been decided by The Hills Shire Council.
Councillors labelled the two multimillion-dollar developments by construction mogul Jean Nassif’s Toplace and Chanrich Properties as “overcooked” while standing defiant against the proposal — enraging Mr Nassif as he sat in the gallery.
Toplace submitted plans for 46 buildings ranging from two to 16 storeys to stretch along Castle Hill Rd from Highs Rd to Coonara Ave in 2016.
The proposal for Cherrybrook Village, which has seen major reductions in negotiations with council, includes plans for buildings ranging from two to 16 storeys in height.
The planning proposal also forecasts the creation of a series of pedestrian and cycleways including an underground link to the Metro station, a new road network, community facilities, parklands and hundreds of commuter parking spaces.
However, Liberal councillor, Samuel Uno, called for his peers to reject the proposal, describing it as “a mirage when it comes to proposed public benefit”.
“This proposal is ridiculous,” he said. “The proposed public benefits, including acres of bushtrails and community facilities, are a mirage because they are proposed for sites the developer does no own.
“The developer expects ratepayers to fork out the bill for this, so it is ridiculous that they would believe that the representatives of our residents would support a motion that completely lacks public benefit.”
While Liberal councillor Alan Hasleden labelled the proposal as “proprosperous in its present form”.
“This development would dump 6000 people in what is currently zoned as a low density residential area,” he said. “They are stretching this site to its elastic limits, until it pops.”
Toplace spokeswoman and urban planning specialist, Larissa Brennan., said council officers “failed to raise concerns before the council meeting, leaving us unable to resolve or address issues.”
“We want to ensure we deliver roads, public spaces and community facilities,” she said. “We want to deliver a world class masterplanned village and that is what this proposal is.”
Mr Nassif anxiously awaited the decision of councillors during Tuesday night’s meeting, telling The Hills Shire Times the councillor’s decision “was not one of planning merits but based on political views and direction”.
Meanwhile, Chanrich Properties director, Michael Fornari, said it was “galling” that his proposal for 930 homes in buildings ranging from two to 12 storeys and a series of 25 townhouses at the corner of Coonara Ave and Castle Hill Rd had “gone nowhere in six years”. “Mirvac’s residential proposal for the IBM site had already received council report and moved on to the Gateway Determination process,” he said.
The proposal includes 5000sq m of central open space at the centre of the masterplanned community.
Liberal councillor Mike Thomas said there was a “need to future proof development” with fears development could creep further into the West Pennant Hills valley if proposals were rejected.
However, Labor councillor Tony Hay blamed the State Government for “abandoning a planned future for Cherrybrook”.
“The government has orphaned Cherrybrook and walked away from their commitment to plan this community,” he said.
“No wonder people think the NSW Planning Department is broken — we are left to pick up the scraps and we are coming up short.
“Where they have their own interests in land along the metro, they are demanding twice the heights of private developers masterplanning sites.”
Councillors also voted to reject the Chanrich Properties proposal from proceeding to Gateway Determination by the NSW Government.