Eastern suburbs development: Woollahra councillors overdevelopment fears, housing targets to be eclipsed

Councillors say the fierce pace of development in Sydney’s eastern suburbs will place unsustainable pressure on community infrastructure, with concerns 2036 housing targets will be exceeded by 200 per cent.

Sydney’s eastern suburbs could soon buckle under the strain of overdevelopment, with a group of Woollahra councillors fearing the fierce pace of construction could see state government housing targets exceeded by 200 per cent by 2036.

Independent councillor Luise Elsing said she was concerned the pace of development could place unsustainable pressure on community infrastructure, such as major roads, buses and trains.

“Our area just cannot withstand that level of new development,” Ms Elsing told the Wentworth Courier.

“When we exceed those development targets, the community ends up experiencing what they are experiencing, which is congestion, traffic, no schools [available for students in the area].”

Cr Elsing said Woollahra’s housing target was lower than many other Sydney councils because the area was located on a peninsula, had a number of heritage zones and a few major roads in and out of the area.

Double Bay has seen a massive uptick in new developments.

The NSW Planning Department forecasts 151,500 new homes across Sydney from 2022 to 2025-26 to manage the city’s population growth.

While the bulk of Sydney councils – 23 out of 33 – will fall short of their housing targets The Hills Shire, Sutherland Shire and Woollahra are expected to exceed their five-year targets.

Councillor Luise Elsing.

Woollahra Council reached its dwelling targets set by the state government for 2016-2021, with data indicating it will also exceed its target of 500 dwellings for 2021-26 by 140.

At a recent council meeting councillors Elsing, Lucinda Regan and Merrill Witt suggested in a ‘question with notice’ that the number of new homes was likely to exceed targets across the next decade – without the infrastructure forward planning to support it.

Based on the average number of dwellings built per annum in the past five years – 113 – the number of new dwellings over the next targeted period could massively blow out.

Applying this number “across the remaining 15 years of the targeted period (2021 – 2036) would result in a total of 2279 new dwellings as at 2036,” the statement said. “Almost 200 per cent above target.”

Shops and apartments on Old South Head Road in Vaucluse.

A Woollahra Council spokeswoman said the councillors’ statement did not reflect council’s position or council staff advice.

“It would not necessarily reflect the number of approved and constructed dwellings in the Woollahra LGA each year until 2036, due to a number of factors including availability of land,” the spokesman said.

However, council confirmed last May it had asked the NSW Government to withdraw its dwelling targets for 2026 due to the fact council “had already significantly exceeded previous targets” and there were “no proposed upgrades to infrastructure in order to accommodate this growth”.

Councillor Lucinda Regan says the State Government is blocking planning powers to slow growth.

The Planning Minister told council at the time there was no flexibility on the dwelling targets and suggested council work with the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) to finalise its housing strategy.

Several proposals to prevent overdevelopment have been rejected by the DPE, Crs Elsing, Regan and Witt said.

Councillor Regan noted other councils, such as Mosman, had been able to protect their area’s local character using the DPE.

Many eastern suburbs areas are protected by heritage conservation, such as Nielsen Park in Vaucluse. Picture by Damian Shaw

Cr Elsing said in the Woollahra LGA the suburbs of Edgecliff and Double Bay were being targeted for the lion’s share of development thanks to their close location to the city, public transport and minimal heritage protections.

Residents’ groups have been raising their concerns about the rapid rate of development in the past year.

Residents of the Cosmo Centre and Knox Street business owners joined forces earlier this year to rally against council's plans for Knox Street.

“Encouraged by the council, Double Bay has become a ‘honey pot’ for property developers. The frenzied pace of new construction shows no sign of abating,” Double Bay Residents’ Association president Anthony Tregoning said.

Mr Tregoning said about 15 development applications for substantial residential or commercial buildings in Double Bay had been approved this year, with at least another six making their way through the approval process.

Cr Elsing said the crux of the issue was the lack of infrastructure planning by the state government to manage additional housing development.

“What I’m really trying to show and have shown is that we are exceeding those targets,” she said. “And that’s one of the reasons I would say we’ve got problems with traffic, and transport and congestion and parking and all the things the residents are upset about.”

“What infrastructure have we got in place to be able to accommodate this level of new development outside what the Greater Sydney Commission has said that we can tolerate?”

Urban Taskforce chief executive Tom Forrest said the targets for the Woollahra LGA were “set at incredibly low numbers.”

Areas close to employment and serviced by a high-quality bus and ferry networks should be driving growth in Sydney, Mr Forrest said.

Local pushback was “a case of the wealthiest of the Baby boomer generation deliberately excluding new entrants to their community” by using the planning system.”

The organisation advocates on behalf of property developers and equity financiers.

However Mr Forrest also said councils that over-achieve on their minimum targets should be rewarded with additional funds for local and community infrastructure.

A Department of Planning and Environment spokesman told the Wentworth Courier Woollahra Council recently received funding for community infrastructure, including $4.75 million for a ‘Enhancing and Revitalising Woollahra Iconic Spaces’ project and more than $600,000 for three infrastructure projects to improve parks and green spaces.

“We will continue to work with Woollahra to help it meet the growing needs of its community,” he said.