Cremorne boarding house: Court showdown looms for 124 Benelong Rd development

A boarding house development labelled by residents as a ‘brutalist concrete box’ will be determined in court after an appeal was launched by the developer behind the multistorey complex.

A concept image of the boarding house.

Plans for a multistorey boarding house development at Cremorne are set to be determined in court after generating opposition from nearby residents on the lower north shore.

The 20-room development at 124 Benelong Rd was rejected by the North Sydney Council planning panel in September due to a string of concerns, including the “excessive” bulk and scale of the building.

The council’s objections to the development also included an inadequate number of on-site parking spaces, lack of communal spaces, and traffic arrangements that meant vehicles would not be able to leave the site in a forward direction.

In refusing the proposal, the council stated the bulk and scale of the building was “excessive” and would have “adverse visual impacts on the streetscape”.

The developer behind the project, Regal Benelong Pty Ltd, has lodged an appeal against the decision – meaning the final say on the proposal will be settled in the Land and Environment Court.

A photo of the home that will be replaced for the development.

Plans for the development show the four-storey boarding house would have 19 boarding units, a manager’s room, four carparking spaces, an internal common room, plus landscaping works.

The existing one story home at the site would be demolished. Plans by Regal Benelong stated the development was permissible in the high density zoning of the site.

An architectural plan of the development, showing the carparking arrangements at bottom right.

“The proposal is considered to satisfy the zone objectives by demolishing an outdated single-storey dwelling house with high-quality affordable residential accommodation,” the plan state.

“It is considered that the proposal will achieve a high level of internal amenity for the proposed boarding rooms and will be a compatible built form in terms of height, bulk, and scale.”

A photo lodged by residents in submissions, highlighting limited street parking in the surrounding area.

The plans prompted a high number of submissions from residents including from Julian Fenwick who wrote “the design is completely out of character with the surrounding buildings”.

“The developer’s image of the proposed building – a brutalist concrete box of a structure – will dominate the streetscape,” he wrote in a submission. “No attempt has been made to create something sympathetic to the local architecture.”

Chris Dyer wrote the proposed design “bears no consistency or context with the surrounding neighbourhood features’ and could “create a precedent for future high density ‘slab’ buildings” in the area.

Resident Sarah Matthews said she would “like further information on the ‘type’ of boarding house” the developer was proposing.

“I moved and bought in this area as it is a safe community to raise my children and one must query whether such a business will impact this quiet and safe residential area,” she wrote.

The appeal comes amid heightened community concern over a spike in new developments in Cremorne, which some residents say is changing the character of the historic suburb.

The first court hearing has been scheduled for April 4.