Tom Waterhouse granted permission for rebuild of multimillion-dollar Sydney home
Aussie bookmaker Tom Waterhouse has won a court fight to knock down and rebuild his beachfront mansion, drawing fury from Mosman locals.
Plans from Aussie bookmaker Tom Waterhouse to knock down his beachfront house and replace it with a new multimillion-dollar rebuild have been approved, despite backlash from his wealthy neighbours.
Mr Waterhouse, bookmaker and CEO of venture capital fund Waterhouse VC, purchased the property on Wyargine St, Mosman, for $13 million in 2014.
In November last year, he and his wife Hoda Vakili applied to demolish the home and replace it with a $4 million Luigi Rosselli-designed property, complete with two storeys, a pool and a pergola.
However, his neighbours were less than impressed with the sprawling design, with 19 locals making submissions in response to Mr Waterhouse’s development application.
But, despite these concerns, the Land and Environment Court recently ruled the knockdown-rebuild can go ahead.
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“I am satisfied that the proposal is of a bulk and scale that is commensurate with the bulk and scale envisaged by the applicable development standards for a residential building on the site in this low density residential zone,” court commissioner Susan O’Neill said in her ruling.
As a result, she found the building proposal “does not unreasonably impact on existing views across the site from surrounding development and the public domain”.
This will likely come as unwelcome news to many neighbours.
The complaints submitted ranged from the proposed height of the build “obliterating” views of the beach and blocking sunlight to surrounding properties, to negatively impacting public amenity and producing noise pollution from the proposed airconditioning system.
In her submission, Mosman local Angela Bambach said the proposed development was “inappropriate” for the site and “completely at odds with the streets and beachscape”.
“In fact it looks more like it belongs on the French Riviera than Balmoral Beach,” she said.
Ms Bambach claimed there would be negative impacts on public amenity if the build was to go ahead as planned.
“The proposed development would cause a devastating loss of public amenity both in the form of views of the beach from Wyargine St footpath (which were specifically preserved during the upgrade of parking in the Stancliff building) and on the beach itself,” she said.
“Directly in front of the house there is a shady, leafy area that provides a haven of natural shade and sun protection for young families who utilise the shallow and protected waters of Edwards Beach.
“This would be a tragic loss of vegetation, beauty, bird and animal habitat and visitor amenity.”
Local also voiced concerns over the inclusion of a pizza oven and chimney in the build, which some claimed may send food smells wafting into nearby properties.
Another resident claimed the proposal was “non-compliant” and would have a “detrimental impact” on the amenity of their property and neighbouring properties.
“The proposed development is neither consistent nor compliant with the council’s stated aims and objectives for the area and official development controls,” the submission stated.
The resident also claimed that the noise pollution from the airconditioning units to be placed on the northern side of the home would be “unacceptable”.
A separate submission also claimed the view from the public path off Wyargine St leading down to Balmoral Beach would be “completely obliterated” by the development.
Another local claimed the proposed bulk and height of the build would be “extremely imposing” on its neighbours.
Another submission noted: “We currently enjoy an adequate separation between the buildings but the proposed development with its non-compliant side set backs, wall heights and bulk and scale will drastically impact our access to natural light and southern air flow.”
While the development has now been approved, it is subject to 93 conditions laid out in the court ruling.
Included in the conditions is the “deletion of the chimney stacks associated with the fireplace and BBQ on the southern side of the development”.
This change is to be made in order to “minimise view loss”.
Solar panels must also be removed from the garage roof and no solid fuel or wood burning appliance is to be installed in the property in order to “reduce air pollution and potential nuisance to neighbours”.
Mr Waterhouse is the son of famous bookmaker Robbie Waterhouse and legendary horse trainer Gai Waterhouse.
He left Sydney with his wife and three children in 2021 to move to London, with Mr Waterhouse opening an office in Berkeley Square House in Mayfair.
However, The Daily Telegraph reported in July that Mr Waterhouse was on his way back to Sydney to oversee the development of his new multimillion-dollar Sydney home.