Thirty-seven luxury apartments housed in a four-storey building with basement parking for 55 vehicles would replace seven residential properties as part of the.
An artist’s impression of proposed new housing in Vaucluse.OSHR At Vaucluse Holdings Pty Ltd
A spokesman for the developer said the building had been “painstakingly designed” despite some “very minor breaches” of the permissible building height.
However,the development has met opposition from members of the community-based Vaucluse-Diamond Bay Precinct and Labor and Liberal local councillors,who questioned the need for seniors housing.
A precinct spokesman said the project was “a clear overdevelopment” that would add to traffic and parking congestion and overtax ageing infrastructure.
“The area does not need more senior housing,” he said. “It needs to attract a younger community to retain its historic character and enliven it.”
Waverley councillors and residents are concerned about the impact of a seniors housing development on the often busy Old South Head Road.Louise Kennerley
Twenty-five of the 37 apartments will have three bedrooms,with only three one-bedders.
The complex would also have a driveway for taxis,Ubers and deliveries to avoid stopping on Old South Head Road,while the older retired residents with vehicles would typically drive outside of normal peak hours.
It is being developed by OSHR At Vaucluse Holdings Pty Ltd,a company whose sole director is Kam Yun Au-Yeung according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
The spokesman also said there was a growing shortage of high-quality seniors housing in areas such as Vaucluse:“Particularly the empty nesters looking to downsize from large traditional homes into a spacious bespoke apartment with suitable onsite services and facilities.”
Residents fear the development will affect traffic on Old South Head Road. Louise Kennerley
Waverley Liberal councillor Will Nemesh said the eastern suburbs council was one of the most densely populated areas in Sydney and did not need more housing for seniors.
“We are essentially full and if development is to occur it should be appropriate and in keeping with the local amenity,” he said.
Cr Nemesh said the proposed development was “entirely inappropriate” for the character of the area:“Old South Head Road is already at a standstill,this development will just add to traffic congestion.”
The site is zoned for medium density residential,but Cr Nemesh said he and fellow Liberal councillor Sally Betts had been “fighting to down-zone” the Diamond Bay area of Vaucluse to low density.
The project utilises a statewide policy to promote seniors housing close to public transport and services and people’s families.
The policy was amended last July to prohibit seniors housing in the “metropolitan rural area”,which includes parts of Hornsby and Northern Beaches councils,but planning rules are set to be revised again.
Waverley Labor councillor Steven Lewis said the policy meant seniors housing development applications “can go higher and bigger” than local planning rules.
“The development is for 37 units replacing seven houses,” he said. “Why does seniors housing need three-bedroom apartments? Retirement usually means downsizing not upsizing.”
Cr Lewis said there had been a spate of “so-called” seniors housing developments in the eastern suburbs “as developers try and get around the planning controls”.
“Housing affordability is a real issue in the eastern suburbs,” he said. “Young residents are being forced out of the area.”
Cr Lewis said the:“It will be determined by a panel which is not answerable to the residents.”
Liberal member for Vaucluse Gabrielle Upton said she also shared residents’ concerns about the impact of the development and had taken up those concerns with Planning Minister Rob Stokes.
“It’s important that any new housing we need is appropriately located and designed to fit in with existing neighbourhoods,” she said.
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