Gladesville Bridge Marina: $7m expansion refused by panel

Locals in Sydney’s harbourside suburb of Drummoyne are celebrating after a decision was handed down over a controversial marina expansion.

A controversial project in Sydney’s lucrative waterways to expand an inner west marina has been knocked back after locals rallied against the proposal.

The Sydney East City Planning Panel last week refused permission to develop the Sutton family owned Gladesville Bridge Marina after a wave of community backlash from neighbours who claimed the $7 million proposal would ruin their views.

Motor Yacht Marine Holdings, run by Neil and Scott Sutton of the family car dealership empire, was asking to more than double the number of floating berth spaces from 50 to 115.

Community members rally to stop the expansion of the Gladesville Bridge Marina. Picture: Instagram/savegladesvillebridgewaterway

Residents in Drummoyne said the expansion would have taken up too much space on the water.

“The panel’s comprehensive findings make damning reading and underline the importance of ordinary people speaking up to point out the facts,” local Graeme MacLaren said.

“This proposal should never have reached this point. The marina is already a glaring testament to planning failure and it was patently unacceptable to contemplate further overdevelopment of the waterway.”

Supplied Editorial Artist's impressions of the Gladesville Bridge Marina expansion in Drummoyne.

In a submission, Captain Cook Cruises had also said the section of the Parramatta River was already one of the most congested in Sydney and the expansion would increase the likelihood of a collision.

The same residents had also been calling for an investigation into how the marina had been granted the lease at nearby Howley Park East to continue its day to day operation after it emerged the land was zoned for public use.

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