20-22 Wardell Rd, Earlwood: Canterbury residents oppose boarding house

Earlwood residents have found themselves in a five year battle with developers and council to stop the construction of a $2m boarding house next to a park and suburban homes.

20-22 Wardell Rd Earlwood has been approved for a boarding house.

Earlwood residents have found themselves in a five year battle with developers and council to stop the construction of a $2m boarding house next to a park and suburban homes.

The site of the approved boarding house 20/22 Wardell Rd, Earlwood has been advertised for sale with an asking price of more than $4.5m as an “exceptional opportunity” for buyers “looking to develop a DA-approved boarding house. The site currently is currently occupied by two single-storey homes.

The 32-bedroom boarding house was first proposed in 2018 but the original plans were denied by Canterbury Bankstown Council the following year due to “overdevelopment” concerns.

The applicant, Rami Emmi, took the case to the Land and Environment Court in 2020, and overturned the council’s previous decision.

The impending sale has sparked fresh concerns about the development with Hepke Poutsma, 55, who lives on nearby Riverview Rd, of the view a boarding house wasn’t “the right choice” as the location was next to Beaman Park and single-storey homes.

Riverview St resident Hepke Poutsma, who opposed the boarding house, standing next to the land’s for sale sign.

“The people that move in (to boarding houses), you can have your inferences, but that’s not the primary concern, it’s about a high density two-storey high development looking out of character in the park,” he said.

Mr Poutsma has lived on Riverview Rd for more than 10 years and said the development would “change the neighbourhood” by setting a precedent for more high rise buildings.

20-22 Wardell Rd Earlwood has been approved for a boarding house.

“It changes the look and feel for the neighbours but also for the park users as it’s used by a lot of cricket players all weekends,” he said.

The father-of-two said the problem wasn’t about providing affordable housing, rather the boarding house was “not the right development for the area”.

“If you take away all the complications and look at the building itself, it’s a sensitive area in a flood zone so they have to raise the height of the building … it’s not right,” he said.

Increased traffic and lack of parking was another concern raised by Mr Poutsma, as streets become congested on the weekend for sport in Beaman Park.

Canterbury-Bankstown councillor Barbara Coorey moved a motion in June’s council meeting calling for a report to rezone the block to open space recreation and consider funding options for council to purchase the land.

Riverview St resident Hepke Poutsma has opposed the approved boarding house on Wardell Rd.

Coorey said she was “not opposed to boarding houses where they’re well located”.

“You can’t put a boarding house near a park that is near families … we’re going to have a lot of complaints,” she said.

Councillor David Walsh said Coorey’s motion was “problematic” and voted against the move

“It’s not a proper process. You just don’t rezone land because you don't like what is being built there,” he said.

Ms Coorey’s motion was voted down seven votes to six, with the councillors supporting the report including Charbel Abouraad, Sazeda Akter, Barbara Coorey, Charlie Ishac, Jessie Nguyen and George Zakhia.

Mr Poutsma said he disagreed with council’s decision to not rezone the land and said council should consider purchasing the site.

“I think that (the rezoning) being rejected and the unwillingness of council to look into it is wrong,” he said. “The site could be open space or a playground or something more suitable for the area.”