Dee Why, May Rd: Boarding house with 86 rooms approved
It’s taken seven years, but a controversial 86-room boarding house complex on Sydney’s northern beaches has been given the go-ahead.
Manly
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The go-ahead has been given for a controversial 86-room boarding house complex on the edge of the Dee Why CBD — seven years after the original development application was lodged with Northern Beaches Council.
A massive compound, made up of five separate 2-4 storey unit blocks with about 170 lodgers, can now be built on three former building lots, stretching between Pittwater and May roads.
The NSW Land and Environment has ruled that modifications to the original $11.5m DA, which was approved by the court in 2020, were allowed.
Dozens of locals had submitted objections to the boarding house redevelopment since the original plans, calling for 122 rooms, was submitted to the council in 2018.
The council opposed that application by Supertramp Pty Ltd, which has also built the 90-unit Kallista apartment building in nearby Mooramba Rd.
Supertramp has local property developer Brett Sandvoss listed as a director.
Mr Sandvoss also redeveloped the former Cromer tennis centre, next to the Time and Tide Hotel, into the boutique Evergreen residential subdivision with about 30 houses.
The council was against the original 2018 Dee Why boarding house DA due to the what it described as the complex’s “excessive bulk and scale” being out of character with the neighbourhood, which was made up of single family homes and townhouses.
The original proposal allowed for between one and two lodgers per room.
There were also concerns by locals that traffic on May Rd, a well used shortcut for vehicles travelling between Pittwater and Warringah roads, would increase significantly.
Supertramp appealed to the Land and Environment Court and the DA, with a reduction in the number of rooms to 80, was approved.
The site has been cleared, with all former buildings being demolished.
Neighbouring property owner, Giovanna Simonetti, stated in her submission that excessive noise from the complex would become an issue.
“The area will be more crowded, more difficult to try and park, which is already an issue,” Ms Simonetti wrote.
Local Joshua Copland-Nielsen submitted that neighbouring properties would be overshadowed by the boarding house unit blocks and that traffic increases would cause problems.
“I am certain that cramming more and more people into this street will eventuate in an extremely dangerous accident that could be life threatening to those involved,” he wrote.
As well as 80 single and double room at the complex, each of the five blocks will have accommodation for lived-in managers.
That application sought permission to add an extra storey to two of the five unit blocks, which will add an extra six units to the development, taking the total to 86.
There will 39 spaces for carparking, a number of common rooms for residents, and each unit will have its own kitchenette and ensuite bathroom.
The Manly Daily has attempted to contact the developer.
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