Council objects to Hakoah site plan

Waverley Council has lodged its strong objection to the plans for the redevelopment of the former Hakoah club site and hopes the State Government, now the consent authority, will take heed.

Mayor Sally Betts said councillors “wholeheartedly” supported the document prepared by council staff recommending refusal of the development application.

“Hopefully the Planning Department will reject it and then they may amend the DA,” she said.

The main objections were to the bulk and the height of the building.

“On the O’Brien Street side of the building there would be a dramatic impact on the views for the homes behind it,” Mayor Betts said.

“The tower on the Hall Street side has been there for a long time and would be fine if it was kept at the existing height but they want to pull the tower back towards O’Brien and that creates problems.

“Our other main objection was that the application was taken out of our hands.”

The NSW Department of Planning called in the application because the development includes Medina Apartments that will hire more than 100 staff. That makes it a significant tourism site. If Medina were to only hire 99 staff, responsibility for the DA would have remained with council.

“I personally have no objection to having family accommodation in Waverley so I’m not objecting to the Medina Apartments because they bring the kind of tourists we want,” the mayor said.

Local opposition to the development has focused on the scale of the proposal. Community spokesperson Paul Paech said a suitable development would be smaller, would ensure affordable housing in Bondi Beach and keep local jobs.

“Tourists avoid mega-malls, building and construction sites so any tourism jobs touted by developers are far fewer than the jobs lost from the businesses currently in Bondi Beach. Residents need basic services and shops kept open too,” he said.

Locals fear the area will end up “like Surfer’s Paradise… empty and soulless” and are concerned about the impact of large scale construction in the narrow streets.

“The traffic gridlock would be the worst the eastern suburbs have ever seen,” said Margaret McNiven, safety and traffic volunteer for the Bondi Beach Precinct. “Every sunny Sunday Bondi Beach roads are already jammed without further construction.”

Anyone who wants to have a say on any aspect of the plans can still lodge a submission with the Department of Planning.