210 Units Proposed For Rose Bay In State Significant Development Application

Another State Significant housing development has been proposed for Rose Bay, making for two on one street — and augmenting fears of property damage.

Hewlett Property is seeking to build 210 flats, with two levels of underground parking, at 36-56 Dover Road and 27-31 Hamilton Street; the complex would also border Short Lane and Spencer Lane. The application is in its early stages.

Less than 200 metres away at 21-31 Dover Road, an $86 million development would replace five existing homes with an eight-story block of flats. A geotechnical report commissioned by concerned residents indicated that it could cause damage to 40 close-by properties, increasing to 130 in conjunction with other nearby developments. The report determined that these risks could affect some buildings on New South Head Road, including Hotel Rose Bay.

More recently, at the March meeting of the Woollahra Council’s Environmental Planning Committee, Liberal member Julian Parmegiani lambasted “fantasy” geotechnical reports submitted by developers.

The concerns relate to dewatering — the on-site removal of underground water — which such developments will demand. Rose Bay and nearby Double Bay have a delicate geology, being situated on a high water table. Other developments in recent years have caused cracking and shifting of existing structures.

Residents’ group warns against “unprecedented concentration” of “excavation-intensive” projects

The Rose Bay Residents Action Group said that the latest proposal, like others, “raises a fundamental planning question at the outset: is this site, and this precinct, actually suitable for the scale of development being pursued?” 

“An eight-storey State Significant project involving deep basement excavation is being advanced within a confined coastal basin where numerous adjoining sites are already proposed. This represents an unprecedented concentration of excavation-intensive projects in an area where environmental and geotechnical risks are well documented — and where significant property damage and emergency stop-work interventions have already occurred.”

“The proponent’s own scoping material confirms that flood risk, ground conditions and cumulative impacts require detailed investigation. In these circumstances, residents say the precautionary principle must apply.”

Whilst concerned about the proposal, the residents’ group says that it is not opposed to new housing.

“The key issue is not housing targets or bonus density — it is whether basin-scale groundwater, flooding and settlement risks are being properly assessed before additional development intensity is effectively locked in.”

 “Approving projects sequentially without coordinated modelling risks transferring foreseeable impacts onto existing homes, infrastructure and the public purse. It also risks undermining social cohesion, as long-standing residents face uncertainty and displacement, while density bonuses in high-value coastal suburbs have yet to deliver meaningful or lasting affordability outcomes.”

Councillors concerned by prolific development 

Councillor Merrill Witt of Residents First Woollahra represents the Vaucluse ward, which includes the concerned area of Rose Bay. Witt said that there has been an “overwhelming” number of Low and Mid-Rise development applications recently.

She referred the City Hub to her submission against a different State Significant proposal, for 15-15A Fernleigh Avenue and 38-40 Carlisle Street, Rose Bay.

“The public was led to believe that the new Low and Mid-Rise non-discretionary standards for height and floor space ratio were about incentivising sensible in-fill developments near town centres, not encouraging the wholesale redevelopment of entire suburbs, which is now the case in Rose Bay.”

“Residents who bought into the area before the LMR Housing Policy was introduced legitimately believed that, although the area was going through a period of transition, the desired future character had been set at 3 to 4 storeys.”

“Now, even residents in some of these new Residential Flat Buildings are being subjected to strong encouragement (often pressure) from real estate agents to join forces with neighbours and market their amalgamated lots for LMR redevelopments.”

Parmegiani, Witt’s Vaucluse ward colleague, has also been vocal in expressing his concerns about development in the area.

Public submissions regarding the proposal will be sought later in the application process. 

Hewlett Property Group was contacted for comment.