Lane Cove: Sydney-Hobart champion Adrienne Cahalan in council NCAT battle over sealed documents

A renowned sailor has swapped maritime law for civil, taking her council to the tribunal to make public sealed documents related to a lease for a contentious North Sydney development.

266 Longueville Rd, Lane Cove is the site of an $83m development proposal for 92 individual senior housing dwellings. Picture: Morrison Design Partnership Architects

A renowned sailor has swapped maritime law for civil, taking her council to the tribunal to make public sealed documents related to a lease of a contentious North Sydney senior housing development.

Adrienne Cahalan – the most successful female sailor in Sydney to Hobart history – will front Lane Cove Council’s lawyers in a two-day hearing on Wednesday.

“It’s such an important issue for our community – it’s about transparency and what’s in the public interest,” she said.

NCAT will decide whether to make public confidential documents pertaining to a contentious lease between council, developer Australian Unity and senior housing company Pathways over 266 Longueville Rd.

The actual lease is publicly available, but commercial information that involves confidentiality obligations between the parties is not, which Ms Cahalan wants unsealed.

Renowned sailor Adrienne Cahalan, on behalf of the community and action groups, has taken Lane Cove Council to court.

“We should be able to know what conditions are enclosed and make sure they are in the public interest – because on the face of it, it’s hard to see how it could be,” she said.

In May 2022, Pathways were given – in a closed council session – a 99-year lease to redevelop 266 Longueville Rd to create an $83 million 70-unit senior-housing development.

Concept land maps of the proposed development on Longueville Rd, Lane Cove.

The lease is contentious among residents, as it was assigned from previous developer Australian Unity to Pathways in a closed session after council received about $33 million, as well as being be built on public sporting fields.

Ms Cahalan, a member of the Gore Greek Action Group, said access to the sealed documents was “in the public interest”.

“It’s public land, the community should be able to know what the transaction was, why it was done in this way,” she said.

Ms Cahalan revealed the emotional and financial drain the campaign had taken on residents.

“It’s enormously stressful, people and families have been impacted,” she said.

Concept art of the proposals. Picture: Thomas Adsett

Concept art of the proposals. Picture: Thomas Adsett

“We’ve worked together as a community to raise funds to get legal advice, we’re just trying to protect our LGA.”

It was not lost on her, however, that residents had funded the legal case against them.

“We’re up against our own rates, which is a bitter pill to swallow,” Ms Cahalan said. “I’m going up against the full force of their lawyers, paid for by us.”

The battle between over the land is in its 10-year anniversary. Pathways recently lodged a modification to the development application to create a 92-unit with an additional level of basement parking for 181 cars.

That modification, which received about 200 submissions of opposition, was deferred on May 19 by the North Sydney Planning Panel who cited “unresolved key issues” with the proposal.

Children play in the park at Longueville Rd. Residents have raised concerns about losing green space and environmental damage.

A council spokeswoman said “the actual lease agreement was publicly available” but the obligations between council and the developer confidential.

“The applicant is exercising their rights under the Government Information (Public Access) Act to request a review of decisions made by council on their request for information,” she said.

“The act includes provisions to seek to balance the public’s right to know vs commercial information which involves confidentiality obligations between the parties.

“The applicant’s original GIPA application has been internally assessed and independently reviewed against the provisions in the act, with the applicant now seeking a review by NCAT.”

The matter is at NCAT for a two-day hearing on Wednesday and Thursday.

News tip? Email [e-mail]

Originally published as Lane Cove: Sydney-Hobart champion Adrienne Cahalan in council NCAT battle over sealed documents