Waverley mayor Paula Masselos said local councils had limited powers to prevent damage caused by excavations on building sites as property developers continue to transform the beachside suburb.
Waverley Local Planning Panel in December approved plans to demolish buildings and construct a three-storey commercial building with basement parking in Curlewis Street,Bondi Beach.
The site includes a property where building work in December 2020 caused an.
The panel also gave deferred commencement consent for plans to bulldoze buildings for a four-storey residential building with ground-floor shops on Hall Street,Bondi Beach.
In both cases,the planning panel said a dilapidation report had to be prepared for any nearby properties that could suffer damage as a result of building works.
But any damage that may be caused is a civil matter,the planning panel said.
“Council will not be held responsible for any damage that may be caused to adjoining buildings as a consequence of the development being carried out,” the panel said.
Amelia Findlay,whose parents live in a property adjoining a development site,said planned excavations for a basement car park posed an “unacceptable” risk of site collapse as well damage to a 100-year-old tree on her parents’ property.
Findlay said she feared her parents’ home would be damaged during construction works.
“Residents are under huge stress,and many of those living alongside similar developments are understandably fearful for their lives and properties,” she said.
Construction work at a number of Bondi development sites has affected nearby properties including the house on Curlewis Street that partially collapsed in 2020.
neighbouring a building site on Lamrock Avenue,prompting the builder to fill in a giant hole dug for an underground car park,A Current Affair reported.
Demolition at a site on Jaques Avenue caused nearby buildings to shake and the evacuation of the Bondi Beach Police Station,ABC News in July 2021.
A SafeWork NSW spokesman said inspectors had attended the building sites at Curlewis Street,Lamrock Avenue and Jaques Avenue in Bondi in 2020 and 2021 in response to issues including the partial collapse of a neighbouring property,cracks appearing in a neighbouring property and vibrations coming from a building site.
“Inspectors issued prohibition and improvement notices which have since been complied with,” he said.
Findlay said there were at least a dozen developments planned or under way on Hall Street:“The stress that this is placing on residents and the destruction of the Bondi village is no less than horrific,and it is irreversible.”
Waverley Council issued a stop-work order on a construction site near Bondi Beach after builders knocked down a semi-detached house without permission.
The council received 444 complaints about illegal development or use of buildings in 2021-22.
Concerns about overdevelopment prompted the council to require on some building projects and fund a.
Masselos said the issues related to a lack of proper care and supervision by the developer and private certifier where excavation is being undertaken.
“Councils have limited powers to prevent this type of damage beyond taking action where conditions of consent are not being followed,” she said.
Masselos said it was regrettable that council staff cannot consider the track record of a developer in the DA assessment process.
A 2022 NSW parliamentary report into building standards said the construction industry was still failing to provide safe,reliable and defect-free homes three years after serious defects were found in the Opal Towers and Mascot Towers developments.
Masselos said improving building standards in NSW was a key challenge and called for greater accountability for registered certifiers,engineers and builders.
“We would like the responsibility for certification returned to councils to ensure that the needs of local residents are considered and balanced against the onslaught of overdevelopment,” she said.