“Both the state and federal governments are actively encouraging developments in well-located areas such as Neutral Bay to address the housing supply challenges, and we think this project will help meet that challenge.
“The whole fabric of Sydney is changing and we’re not convinced that the application for a heritage order, in this case, is a genuine one. We have to admit that our society is changing and the housing response to those demands has to change as well.”
Council records show neither the Mosman nor Neutral Bay development site had been subject to heritage listings when the development plans were lodged – adding fuel to the debate over whether the existing properties are worthy of protection.
Submissions lodged by residents in response to the Mosman housing proposal have highlighted a multitude of concerns with the project, including fears the eight-storey tower could alter the character of the low-rise established streetscape.
Mosman resident Judith Pearson – who launched a crowd-funded Land and Environment challenge against the NSW government’s low- and mid-rise housing reforms – argued in a submission the development could “overwhelm the heritage landscape”, overshadow adjoining homes and “intrude upon views” that local planning laws are designed to preserve.
An artist’s impression of the redevelopment at Almora Street in Mosman. Credit: Mosman Council
Those concerns were echoed by resident Jill L’Estrange – a member of the Mosman Headland Preservation Group – who believes the interwar dwelling dating back to 1920 is worthy of preservation.
“Once you bulldoze heritage it’s gone for forever, and while there’s need for more housing in Sydney, it shouldn’t come at the expense of what makes our streetscapes appealing in the first place,” she said.
Tim Foote, a former real estate agent who serves as the chief executive of Prosker – the developer behind the Mosman tower – said the proposal was lodged in line with NSW planning reforms that aim to boost housing density close to town centres and public transport.
While declining to comment on the heritage protection order, he said the project had been designed to provide more housing choices – particularly for “downsizers” – in a part of Sydney where apartments were at a premium.
“People often simplistically look at Mosman and say building new apartments won’t address the affordability issue. And while that’s true to an extent, if you create more supply, it allows people from larger homes to downsize, which in turn frees up those properties, which addresses the affordability challenges Sydney is experiencing,” he said.
North Sydney Council said in a statement an independent report into the Bydown Street properties “indicated there was sufficient basis” to seek the heritage protection order, adding the “council has a responsibility to ensure development proposals [are] responsive to the public interest including potential heritage values”.
Mosman Council said in a statement: “While the Almora Street building may not have been previously identified by council as heritage significant, it had been flagged as potentially significant by a heritage expert” during the development assessment process.
The heritage protection orders will remain in place for the Neutral Bay site for six months, while the order in Mosman will be in force until October 30.
NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully has previously warned that councils must not use heritage as an excuse to avoid their housing responsibilities in the middle of a supply crisis.
In the past year, interim heritage orders have also been applied across other Sydney suburbs, including properties in Chatswood, Earlwood, Rockdale and Willoughby.
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