‘Cannot describe my horror’: Whale Beach residents outraged over restaurant proposal

Residents in one of Sydney’s most affluent suburbs have exploded over a proposal to build a restaurant in the area, claiming it will destroy their exclusive enclave.

Wealthy residents in one of Australia’s most affluent suburbs have exploded over a proposal to transform a beachside cafe into a 170-seat restaurant, with some labelling the plans a “disgrace” that could destroy their exclusive enclave.

According to submissions written against the development proposal in the sleepy waterfront suburb of Whale Beach, the cafe upgrade will create a parking nightmare from an extra 18 staff required to run the business.

The idea to revive the shutdown cafe was proposed by the Cassar tourism industry family, which owns the property and lives in apartments attached to the building.

Some criticised the development as only being beneficial to day-trippers, while others pointed out their concern with the amount of delivery drivers it could bring to the suburb.

“I cannot describe my horror when I noticed that the shop which in previous times was a Milk Bar & Deli is about to be demolished to house a mega restaurant and retail complex which would dominate the beach precinct and surrounds,” local residents Sue and Laurie Bombardiere wrote.

Perched just south of Palm Beach, Whale Beach is home to some of Sydney’s richest homeowners, with the median house price coming in at a cool $7 million, over 14 times higher than the national average.

Whale Beach (above) residents have strongly criticised plans to transform a cafe into a 170-seat restaurant, with some going so far to describe the proposal as ‘a disgrace’.

A plan for the ground floor of the proposed restaurant at Whale Beach. It was submitted to Northern Beaches Council in early 2022. Picture: Leslie Cassar

“This development is a disgrace. It aims to benefit day trippers and the owners of this property not the residents of Whale Beach. The council officer who approved only three car spaces for a retail development of this size is at best incompetent,” Bruce Kennedy wrote.

Sydney developer and chairman of Friends of Sydney Harbour John Molyneaux said the boost in traffic would be unwelcome and threatened to “upset our enjoyment”.

“The attendant noise was a constant upset to our enjoyment,” he wrote in his submission, claiming the restaurant was “obviously going to be used for weddings and major celebrations … Please, therefore, refuse this huge-sized restaurant so that this acoustical (sic) nightmare can’t happen again”.

However, not all of the submissions were so quick to decry the development.

One anonymous resident said their family fully supported the concept and said they believed the small suburb needed more businesses.

“Love the design, love the concept and I think Whale Beach is in desperate need of more retail. I’m a resident and my family are residents of and we both constantly comment on the lack of retail in Whale Beach,” their council submission read.

“The deli cannot cope with the volume and it would be better to give some competition to the operator so they both try deliver good food, coffee and service to the local residents.”

Perched just south of Palm Beach, Whale Beach is one of the most affluent suburbs in the country, with the median house price coming in at a cool $7 million

The old kiosk at Whale Beach. Picture: Supplied

Richard West, president of the Palm Beach and Whale Beach Association, said the not-for-profit organisation was behind the plan to build a restaurant for locals and tourists to enjoy a “coffee or a meal” but disagreed with the “excessive” scope of the proposal.

He argued that “people on the beach need to have access to the restaurant to obtain refreshments” but called for the council to come to a “compromise regarding the numbers”.

Anthony Cassar, who is CEO of the family’s company Aviation Online, hit back at residents opposing the restaurant proposal.

“They’re myopic in their approach and they’re not looking at the bigger picture. The outcome from the trouble they’re stirring up could be there’s no restaurant at all,” Mr Cassar told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“That might make the immediate neighbours very happy, but everyone else in the wider neighbourhood will be very unhappy that they won’t be able to have a nice eatery there.

“We’re not asking for anything more than what’s allowed under the planning instrument. Not anything less, not anything more.”