$14m Lane Cove social housing development hits a hurdle from planning panel
A State Government plans to turn three social housing properties in Lane Cove into a six storey apartment block is heading back to the drawing board after concerns from residents and a review by independent planners.
North Shore
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A plan to turn social housing properties in Lane Cove into a six storey apartment block has hit a hurdle amid concerns over height impacts and lack of certainty about whether units would be offered at affordable rates.
The NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) has proposed to redevelop three properties at 20-22 Mindarie St and 30 Pinaroo Place into a 21m tall building with 31 units.
The LAHC said the homes – built in the 1950s and 1960s – would be demolished to make way for “a new community where social housing blends with private and affordable housing”.
Plans show the development would include nine single room units, 14 two bedroom units, eight three bedroom units and 52 carparks.
But the Sydney North Planning Panel – which has been tasked with determining the project – raised concerns with a concept development application at a meeting last week including “insufficient detail” about whether a percentage of units would be provided as affordable or social housing.
Panel members said the proposal also contained “no information” about how cars would access the site along with lack of detail about breaches of height limit, overshadowing and site setbacks – something panel members said left them in a “total vacuum”.
“I’m seriously struggling with this as a concept application – it seeks to breach development standards (and) I can’t get the answers,” one panel member said.
“It’s just so unjustified in a planning sense.”
Concerns over height impacts on surrounding single storey homes were echoed by residents attending the meeting.
“It’s an invasion on our privacy (because) the south facing window of the development will be able to look into our backyard and master bedroom,” one homeowner told the meeting.
“The extent of overshadowing on our property is exceeding what’s reasonable.”
The LAHC state the development would “continue the transformation process” of the local area from a low-rise residential precinct to high density area with “four to five storey residential flat buildings”.
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LAHC representatives told the meeting a community housing provider had also been appointed to progress a detailed development application and that “nine units” were proposed to be offered as social housing.
The representatives said the project was in line with the State Government’s policy of “stimulating the supply of social housing” across NSW by partnering with developers or social housing providers.
“If we have a site that’s zoned for higher and better uses than what’s currently there – and we have a lot of dilapidated properties – then we would take that to the market,” he said.
“Now we have a community housing provider on board we’re looking to progress the next stage of the development.”
Other submissions for residents included concerns over impacts on traffic and congestion – noting the area was “notorious for near‐miss vehicle accidents and congested street parking.”
Resident Sophia Papas said “full disclosure must be provided” about whether units would be offered as social housing or rented or sold on the private market.
The panel unanimously voted to defer the determination to December, giving the LAHC two months to complete a detailed application that “responded to concerns”.
The LAHC owns and manages 130,000 social housing dwellings across NSW, valued at approximately $53 billion.