New DA for Caritas site angers residents

Darlinghurst residents are up in arms over the new plan to redevelop the Caritas site in Forbes Street.

Formerly Crown land, the St Vincent’s site was sold to private developer St Hilliers Group in 2008 for redevelopment into residential apartments.

A previous development application lodged by St Vincent’s included public access to the land being maintained, however Doug Purdie, President of the East Sydney Neighbourhood Association, says this is no longer the case.

“The original DA allowed for open space so there wouldn’t be a closed development, so people could actually walk through the space,” he said.

“St Hilliers have applied for a change to that DA to allow them to expand the size of the site, and it removes the public access part of the land.

“I think it’s appalling … that what was public land is being closed off.”

Mr Purdie said that as the development was categorised as a 3A, residents are powerless to act.

“[It] means the council has no say … no one can complain or do anything about it,” he said.

“I’m sure they will say that they’ve had community consultation but I can tell you that everybody I speak to is fairly outraged that this has happened.”

Resident Rodney Hanratty said the site should have remained in public hands.

“How can we just give away crown land to a private developer? It’s not as if it’s going to community housing,” he said.

“St Hilliers are profiteering from public land that was given to a hospital … they’re making money selling luxury apartments on public land.”

He agreed that the community felt ignored.

“There was a 351 signed petition that went in against the Caritas site, there were protests outside Victoria Street, but basically they’re just ignoring the community around them,” he said.

This included community concerns about the new cancer research centre being built in Victoria Street.

“St Vincent’s is also currently demolishing a row of terraces, one of which is heritage listed,” he said.

“The nine storey building … contravenes their 2005 master plan that they got agreement to which they completely disregarded four years later.

“And this is all tied to St Vincent’s basically destroying Darlinghurst.”

Of the Caritas development, he said “It’s like building a mini-Horizon in The Rocks … Literally that precinct is intact … completely sandstone civic buildings.”

“We don’t have many 18th century intact suburbs … Darlinghurst is the real deal,” he said.

Mr Hanratty echoed Mr Purdie’s comments that the 3A process disempowered the community.

“There’s no checks and balances because it’s all State Government – it sold the land, it rezoned the land, it approved the [development],” he said.

“Kristina Keneally has signed I think, every one of these documents except for the last one which is Tony Kelly – It’s actually her signature on them.”

A meeting of the Central Sydney Planning Committee, which is jointly represented by members of Council and the NSW Department of Planning, last Thursday granted a deferred commencement consent to the St Hilliers plan.

Committee Council Representative Cr John McInerney said the City can usually do no more than comment on 3A developments, but had been able to have more input in this instance.

He said Lord Mayor Clover Moore had expressed concern at the scale of the development, and while the 3A process usually froze out local government, he said “they had some difficulty freezing out the Lord Mayor.”

“Council has been able to negotiate on behalf of the residents and achieve a better solution … But the final approval is still with the State Government,” he said.

But Mr Hanratty said he “was astonished” at Cr McInerney’s response.

“I would have thought 121 luxury apartments on crown land would not be a good outcome in anyone’s book,” he said.

“I don’t see how he can define that as a good outcome.”