Billyard Ave: Elizabeth Bay boarding house plan divides neighbours

Elizabeth Bay locals are split over plans for a boarding house on the same street as Australia’s most famous trophy home, Boomerang. The proposed development is hoped to provide housing for essential workers.

The owners of a striking Billyard Ave home want to add a six storey extension to the rear and turn it into a boarding house for essential workers with Elizabeth Bay locals split over the $3.9 million proposal.

Located on the same street as Australia’s most famous trophy home Boomerang, the proposed boarding house would include 28 rooms, each with a kitchenette containing a fridge and microwave, along with access to a communal kitchen and living area.

There are only two proposed car spaces on the site with residents expected to share laundry facilities. A 29th room serving as an onsite manager’s quarters has also been proposed as part of the plans.

The property is a “contributory item” to the heritage conservation area and considered a quaint example of Victorian Empire architecture which was popular from 1840 to 1890.

Artists impressions show the proposed rear addition to the home.

The proposed black addition can be seen at the rear of the home.

The home is owned by John Pooley and his partner Prudence Harper who previously ran a boarding house on the site until they were shut down more than a decade ago due to a fire safety violation.

In a statement of intent attached to the development application lodged with City of Sydney council, the couple explained why they believe the proposal was appropriate for the harbourside suburb.

“Our world is pivoting and many people are reliant on the fairness of an affordable housing urban renewal,” the letter reads.

“Essential workers such as police, nurses, fire fighters, teachers, defence personnel, chefs and students deserve the opportunity to live safely and within close proximity to where possible to their place of work.

“John purchased the property in 1988 as a boarding house and operated it as such until 2007 when the City of Sydney Council served a … fire safety order and closed the boarding house in what can only be described as unusual circumstances.”

In 2016 the couple placed a large banner on the roof of the home in protest of the removal of trees from the apartment block to their rear, Pomeroy in Potts Point.

John Pooley poses with the banner he erected on the roof in 2016. Picture: John Appleyard

City of Sydney council investigated and a fine was issued as a result of the tree removal.

The proposed extension on Billyard Ave would block views from the ground to level three of Pomeroy.

Elizabeth Bay and neighbouring suburbs Potts Point and Kings Cross are made up of a diverse population at both ends of the socio economic spectrum.

Peter Glass, a local resident and a well-respected landscape architect of over 40 years’ experience, noted people’s comments about the proposed extension resembling an “office block” and commented that the proposal “appears bland, unattractive and completely out of keeping with the wonderful melange of existing buildings/residences in Billyard Avenue”.

“The proposal offends me both as a local resident and as a person who cares about the importance of both form and function,” Mr Glass said.

The Billyard Ave home as it appears today.

“Not only does the proposal appear to be a completely inappropriate overdevelopment of the space available, but many people are questioning whether the final outcome will actually be the ‘low-cost housing’ as proposed.

“I also question whether the proposed demographic, namely service providers such as nurses, paramedics, police officers or firemen, will really choose accommodation that has a living area of around two-thirds the size of a single car garage – and that’s before you even install a bed.

“Will this development end up as a 29 room short-stay or backpackers accommodation, with little control over the behaviour of the ever-changing residents or the noise they create? Some neighbours have suggested that it will, to the detriment of iconic Billyard Ave.”

Pru Harper inside the home which was undergoing renovations. Picture: John Appleyard

Mr Glass also expressed concern about the quality of the ‘green wall’, which has been proposed to hide the rear of the proposed six storey building from the residents in the adjacent Pomeroy building.

“I am seriously concerned as to whether the proposed ‘green wall’ will be a long-lived and attractive green wall (which generally require computerised irrigation and fertilisation systems) or whether the term ‘green wall’ is just a short-lived marketing term being used in an attempt to convince council that those unsuspecting neighbours who are being robbed of their sunlight and views are being placated to some degree.”

However many residents have also voiced their support for the proposal on social media.

“I understand your concern but it’s pretty standard practice to keep the front of a heritage site and remodel the rear specifically so that the charm of the original isn’t lost. And this practice works. This seems like a great compromise. We desperately need more budget accommodation. And these residents make sure that the area isn’t all white bread and boat shoes,” wrote one user.

Mr Pooley and Ms Harper were approached for comment but did not respond prior to publication.