$40m development in Belrose after Northern Beaches Council, developers battle in Land and Environment Court

After more than half a decade in the planning system, a multimillion-dollar residential development has been given the green light after “serious” amendments.

A half-a-decade-long battle between a Sydney council and a property developer has come to an end – after a court case and a series of “serious ammendments were made to the plans.

The Land and Environment Court has approved a $40m development after a court case led to developers amending their original plan “significantly”.

Originally touted as a mixed-use development containing retail space, gymnasium, commercial car wash, 51 apartments and 190 parking spaces, the Belrose development at 28 Lockwood Ave will now only see 49 dwellings, 238 parking spots and scrapping plans for the gym.

A Northern Beaches Council spokesman said the reasoning behind council’s original disapproval was based on height, bulk and scale, amenity impact concerns and public opinion.

“Council recommended refusal of the original proposal on 18 grounds … Sydney North Planning Panel agreed with this assessment and supported all 18 reasons for refusal,” Spokesman said.

Current Belrose building set for development

Artist impression for Belrose development

“The applicant appealed the decision to the Land and Environment Court, during the court process the design was amended significantly.”

“These amendments satisfied the concerns of the experts appointed by Council and therefore, the reasons for refusal and The Commissioner then made their own assessment and considered it appropriate to grant development.”

Artist impression for Belrose development

However, while the development has been given the green light, residents are still pushing back on the project located in Lockwood Ave, with Belrose local Michael Wagg saying the building is a “mockery”.

“The development application almost doubles the current permit and makes a mockery of the current application and approvals,” he said.

“It's additional 49 additional dwellings also add considerable burden to the resources within the area.”

Another local resident Robert Whiley, said that believe that “Council experts made some errors.”

“Both Council and the independent Assessment Panel were right to refuse this overdevelopment of the site but sadly, for the area, all to no avail,” he said.

“I feel that Council’s traffic engineers have erred in giving this a pathway to pass and I hope that the amended DA may offer them the opportunity to reconsider these questions.”