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What did the NSW planning department get a developer backed by billionaire James Packer for Christmas? A development approval that advances a $91 million plan from Melbourne company Time and Place to bulldoze an older unit block in Potts Point and replace it with fewer, high-end apartments – against the wishes of local opponents and the City of Sydney Council.
The City of Sydney Council and independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich are among critics of the proposal to demolish the Chimes building in Potts Point.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
Time and Place submitted plans to knock down the 1960s Chimes building on Macleay Street and replace the 10-storey block of 80 studio or one-bedroom units with a new building up to 13 storeys, possibly comprising about 34 apartments.
At least 15 per cent of the block would be temporary “affordable housing”, available at a lower price than market rent for at least 15 years, under the NSW government’s policy of giving developers extra height and floor space if they offer homes for lower-income earners.
More than 180 negative submissions on revised plans, including from the council and Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, raised concerns about a net loss of lower-cost housing, demolition of the building rather than adaptive reuse, displacement of existing residents and the project’s bulk and scale.
The approval means Time and Place can start work on detailed designs for the Chimes redevelopment.Credit: NSW government
The proposal extended a trend of older towers in affluent suburbs being demolished and replaced with high-end developments containing fewer, larger apartments.
The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure found the project was in the public interest when it approved an amended concept development application in December.
Time and Place can demolish the block and prepare detailed designs, which it previously suggested would include more units and more affordable homes.
The department said Time and Place had demonstrated that adapting the block would not provide “reasonable building safety and amenity for residents”, and upgrades to meet National Construction Code standards “would require demolition or major alteration and reconstruction”.
“It would be unreasonable to expect the retention of the existing building which requires substantial upgrade to comply with code and amenity requirements and has no identified heritage significance,” an assessment report said.
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The department said the plan was consistent with the future character of Potts Point, and also with the government’s ambition to boost density – including affordable housing – in well-located areas.
The report said it would not cause unreasonable overshadowing, traffic, view loss, privacy or visual impacts, and nor would it harm the heritage conservation area or the public domain. Demolition of the Chimes, designed by Hungarian architect Hugo Stossel, is expected to take five months.
The redevelopment phenomenon prompted the City of Sydney to adopt new regulations to restrict dwelling loss. Woollahra Council, spurred by a proposal in Paddington, is considering a similar policy.
The city’s rules, approved in June, limit any “net dwelling loss” to 15 per cent. But they are not retrospective and, in any case, they would not apply to the Chimes, given it is a state significant development.
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