Adjacent Retirement Villages In Rose Bay Proposed Under Planning Reforms

Adjacent retirement villages are planned for Rose Bay, contributing to a cluster of prospective developments that some locals worry will destabilise the water table and cause property damage.

One proposed development, by aged care group Pathways Residences, is envisioned for 20-30 Wilberforce Avenue and 33-39 Dover Road, acquired for $150 million. The other, on 32-42 Wilberforce Avenue and 41-55 Dover Road purchased for $173 million, is being spearheaded by Waterbrook Retirement Living. Both are State Significant proposals able to take advantage of planning reforms by the Minns Government, and are on sites acquired late last year.

Amara Rose Bay, the Pathways project, “will offer a premier luxury retirement living experience surrounded by leafy streets, boutique cafés, coastal parks and vibrant local culture.” It is currently being designed ahead of a development application.

“The community will feature thoughtfully designed apartments, elegant shared spaces and curated wellness and lifestyle programs. With personalised service and concierge-style support, residents will enjoy effortless luxury while staying connected to the charm and energy of the Eastern Suburbs.”

Renderings for the Waterbrook concept show a seven-storey building adorned with hanging foliage. A community briefing is scheduled for 5pm on Thursday 21 May at the Vaucluse Bowling Club.

If all current proposals go ahead, there will be five major excavation sites bordering each other on the same block.

Residents “increasingly concerned” by excavation, says group

The Rose Bay Residents Action Group is composed of locals concerned about recent and planned developments. They said that the adjoining proposals “involve substantial deep basement excavation within the mapped Rose Bay Settlement Area — a low-lying coastal basin identified by Council itself as having shallow groundwater, flood susceptibility and settlement-prone soils.”

“Residents are increasingly concerned that deep multi-level basements may be fundamentally incompatible with this land. The community has already seen severe impacts associated with isolated basement excavations in Rose Bay, including comparatively modest single-storey basements.”

Nearby, the historic Hillcrest home recently suffered a partial collapse, which the builder attributed to “flawed” geotechnical advice. Other properties have suffered damage amid nearby dewatering and construction works.

“Notwithstanding the risks associated with each individual development, the cumulative scenario now being contemplated is extraordinary,” the residents group warned. “Groundwater and settlement behaviour do not stop at title boundaries.”

“To progressively — and contemporaneously — excavate an entire connected block within the same groundwater basin is viewed by many residents as an extremely dangerous planning experiment, carrying foreseeable long-term structural and groundwater risks on a far broader scale than anything previously seen locally.”

“Residents are also concerned about the potential long-term groundwater and hydraulic impacts associated with multiple tanked basement structures within the same connected aquifer system.” 

The group said that developers’ responses to community concerns had been “far from reassuring.”

“Concerningly, residents have provided us with photos of groundwater bores being drilled at what appears to be the highest point of the property on Wilberforce Avenue rather than at street level.”

Another matter are the large trees lining the avenue. Disturbance caused by construction work has the potential to endanger them.

Councillor professes having “no idea” how area will cope

Merrill Witt is a Residents First Woollahra councillor for the Vaucluse ward, which includes Rose Bay.  She is “very concerned about the cumulative impacts of all these proposed Low and Mid-Rise developments in Rose Bay and Double Bay.”

“I have absolutely no idea how the area will cope with the traffic and excavation impacts, especially given the recent history of buildings collapsing or being significantly damaged by excavation.”

Geotechnical concerns over residential developments in the two suburbs have animated the council since the implementation of statewide planning reforms intended to speed up the delivery of housing. Witt and fellow Vaucluse councillor Julian Parmegiani, a Liberal, have frequently raised the subject. At the same time, Woollahra Council’s vision for a multi-storey carpark on Wilberforce Avenue augments the fears of the Rose Bay Residents Action Group.

Pathways Residences and Waterbrook Retirement Living were contacted for comment.