Meriton’s Little Bay redevelopment proposal knocked back a third time

By ROBBIE MASON

Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker has welcomed the news that the NSW government has rejected Meriton’s rezoning proposal to turn Little Bay Cove into high-density tower blocks under the Rezoning Pathways Program.

The rebuff represents the third time Meriton has failed to alter approved land use regulations for the Little Bay site. When the developer giant bought the estate in March 2018, it came with already-completed public infrastructure and a master plan for roughly 450 dwellings across buildings 2 to 5 storeys high.

Mayor Dylan Parker said, “after three failed attempts, Meriton should get on with the job and build to the sensible master plan that applied when they bought in and can be completed right now. The roads, playgrounds and footpaths are already there.”

“Sydney desperately needs new housing now and Meriton dragging out the process any further with new proposals will likely only lead to additional delay and community angst,” he continued.

Community action group Save Little Bay also expressed approval of the actions of the Department of Planning and Environment, who made the decision.

Olde Lorenzen from Save Little Bay said, “it’s a good decision for sensible planning. We trust that Meriton’s third full rejection in four years will make them finally accept current zoning which will deliver the right housing mix for families who should have already moved in 5 years ago.”

In 2020, as local resident opposition coalesced, Randwick City Council blocked a planning proposal by Meriton to expand the development into a 22-story, 1900-dwelling mega-complex. Save Little Bay obtained more than 12,500 signatures in a petition against that Meriton plan.

In 2021, the independent Sydney Eastern Planning Panel unanimously rejected a modified, 17-storey proposal from Meriton, citing as key concerns the bulk, density, impact on local traffic and intrusion on coastal views.

Mayor Parker indicated that this is not a simple case of NIMBYism.

“Our community has always been willing to accept reasonable development including at this site but each of Meriton’s proposals have been so over-the-top that they could not possibly have been accepted on their merits,” he said.

“I’m not just saying this, two expert assessments and the Department of Planning have confirmed it.”

Save Little Bay are demanding the immediate completion of the original master plan.

Lorenzen stated, “We have always been pro-development. The Land and Environment Court decided more than 10 years ago that the original masterplan is ‘eminently suitable for the Little Bay site’.”

“The only party refusing to accept it has been Meriton, clogging up the planning system with nonsense proposals that push for 750% more [dwellings] than what is compliant. The only party standing in the way of housing supply since buying the development-ready site in 2017 has been Harry Triguboff, because of is relentless thirst for more.”

Billionaire developer Harry Triguboff penned an opinion piece for The Australian, published yesterday, in which he lambasted the “hysterical reaction” to rent rises and large-scale redevelopment projections and complained home-owners suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also called for local councils and the Department of Planning and Environment to approve, rather than delay, redevelopmnents amid the city’s housing crisis.

“All kinds of figures are quoted by various characters who know nothing, but unfortunately are quoted by the papers,” he wrote for The Australian.

Through the Rezoning Pathways Program, introduced by the previous state government in December 2022, developers can bypass councils and obtain rezoning approvals directly from the Department of Planning and Environment for high-density developments of over 1000 units in metropolitan areas.

Intended fast-track large-scale housing development, the pilot program has attracted significant criticism. Not only does the program sideline local councils, critics have said, it has fostered haphazard urban planning and rewarded the lobbying power of private developers. The fast-tracking of 12,900 home development in Appin, for example, where there is no existing or planned public transport to the site, insufficient water supplies and a koala habitat has raised eyebrows.