Crown sues over bridge, Opera House views

JAMES Packer-backed Crown has taken the NSW Government to court to stop it from obstructing the harbour views of its Barangaroo development.

CASINO operator Crown Resorts has filed a lawsuit to stop the government approving developments that obstruct views from its new Sydney resort of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

Crown has been counting on its $2.2 billion development at Barangaroo, now under construction, to appeal to rich Chinese gamblers after abandoning operations in the Asian gambling hub Macau and Las Vegas.

As part of an earnings announcement today, the company 46 per cent owned by billionaire James Packer said it had filed a lawsuit against the government’s Barangaroo Delivery Authority seeking an order that it comply with its contract with Crown.

Australian billionaire businessman James Packer. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The contract obligations call for negotiations to “ensure that sight lines from the Harbour Bridge to the Sydney Opera House are retained for the Crown Sydney Hotel Resort”.

The Crown statement did not give details on any specific development application threatening to obstruct its views.

Mr Packer, who quit the Crown board earlier this year citing mental illness, bought two residential floors of Crown’s under-construction Sydney building for $60 million, an apartment record for the city.

The Barangaroo development, pictured from Darling Island in Pyrmont. Picture: Tim Hunter

Representatives for Crown and the Barangaroo Delivery Authority were not immediately available for comment.