Fierce Opposition To Flurry of Housing Developments On The Bondi Beachfront

Locals and councillors have expressed their opposition to proposed mid-rise development along the Bondi foreshore as the state government pushes to build more housing.

Buildings along Campbell Parade may potentially reach eight floors high, with the precinct primed for increased density. This is despite the government’s strategy of concentrating development around railway stations.

As the city, state and country continue to grapple with a lack of housing supply relative to demand, 2,400 new homes are expected to be built in the Waverley Council area in Sydney’s east by 2029.

Commenting to the Herald, local resident and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Technology Sydney Shirley Alexander said the proposed development could damage the foreshore’s character, whilst not appropriately addressing the need for more housing.

Making an example of Surfers Paradise, Alexander feared that developers would build luxury properties well beyond the reach of most Sydneysiders. 

Opposition from Bondi councillor

Bondi ward Liberal councillor Michelle Stephenson proposed building housing in Bondi Junction instead, arguing it would be “actually doable” in contrast to the existing plans. Bondi Junction hosts a major railway station and bus interchange, as well as a large commercial precinct.

“If we force these mammoth projects just for the sake of it, it’ll push up rents and be no good for anyone,” Stephenson told the Herald.

On the other side of the city centre in the Inner West, a council survey earlier this year found strong public support for increased housing density around railway stations.

Waverley Council voted on 29 October to establish a campaign informing the public about the potential development along the foreshore, with a view that this will guide how it engages with the state government going forward.

The council currently possesses 24 affordable housing units.

Plans for new ‘ultra-premium’ units costing more than $20 million

Bondi has been a focal point for eye-watering housing sums and luxury development. Avra, a boutique complex featuring eighteen units, garnered $89 million in sales after eight days on the market in October. Buyers paid between $9 million and $15 million.

In September, a four-bedroom penthouse near the foreshore was sold for $22 million.

Earlier in the year, developer Central Element filed plans to build a “limited number” of “ultra-premium” units costing upwards of $20 million. It boasted that the lavish development, proposed to consist of a duplex and five flats, would be “at a scale not seen before” in the Eastern Suburbs. The site is presently home to two houses and an apartment complex which are not nearly as opulent.

Sydney’s most iconic beachside suburb is confronted by the vexed troubles of a city wherein many struggle to afford to live where they grew up, all while some existing housing stock is demolished for developments marketed only to the very wealthy.