Waverley Bowling Club court hearings gather pace after expert witnesses give evidence
Expert witnesses at the court hearing deciding the fate of the $83 million Waverley Bowling Club redevelopment have faced a day of intense questioning from two leading Sydney barristers.
Wentworth Courier
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Four expert witnesses have today come under scrutiny from two of Sydney’s leading barristers as the Land and Environment Court considers the future of the $83 million redevelopment of the Waverley Bowling Club.
The decision over the divisive project will ultimately rest with Justice Timothy Moore, after the court concludes its hearings next week, as the proceedings between the Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club and Waverley Council gather pace.
Adrian Galasso SC, acting for the Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club, who have spent years attempting to see their plans come to fruition, this afternoon put to the experts giving evidence that the buildings were not out of place for the area, given it backs onto Waverley College’s campus.
One witness remarked one of the buildings was “out of scale ... and the predominant character of the area”, despite it being within council’s height limits.
The development has made its way to court after Easts served Waverley Council with a notice of appeal on February 28.
Council has hired Chris McEwen SC to act on its behalf in the court battle.
Easts had appealed based on the project’s deemed dismissal as it was not assessed in the prescribed period of 40 days, essentially bypassing the normal route of referral to the Eastern Sydney Planning Panel.
Save Waverley Bowling Club’s Mark Nathan, who has campaigned against it since plans were first flagged in 2014, said locals were not necessarily against development in the eastern suburbs.
“It is too high and too dense, the majority of people would be happy to see some development take place in the local area if it meets viability criteria for all involved,” he said.
“There has been no demonstration why (one building) has to be seven storeys.”
Easts in June had made a raft of changes to its development application, reducing the number of units from 90 to 78, car parking spaces 297 to 178 but increasing the size of one building from two to three storeys.
That came after it had already scrapped plans for a childcare centre in March.
“Easts are committed to providing a high quality, members recreational facility for the community of Waverley, also noting that the land will continue to be owned by the club and its members,” Easts chairman Nick Politis had wrote to members earlier this year.
The hearing before Justice Moore continues.
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