The Sydney law museum embroiled in its own fight for justice

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For more than three decades, Sydney’s Justice and Police Museum has invited visitors into a world of law and order, crooks and cops and thugs and judges.

But the museum now has its own battle for justice in a planning row that has united landholders against a high-rise construction project planned for a historic site in Sydney’s Circular Quay.

A concept image of the development that would be located next to the Justice and Police Museum.

The objections centre on a $183 million plan to redevelop the historic Sir Stamford Hotel on Macquarie Street into a 17-storey unit tower with 69 high-end apartments.

The development, which has been in the planning stages for more than two years, has sparked concerns that surrounding sites could be overshadowed by the project and have their existing views across Sydney Harbour “obliterated”.

The Sir Stamford Hotel incorporates the heritage-listed former Health Department building that dates back to 1896 and was designed by the same architect behind some of Sydney’s most prominent buildings, including the Main Terminus building at Central Station.

A concept image of the development at 93-97 Macquarie Street, Circular Quay.

The stoush is the latest flashpoint in the tension between preserving Sydney’s heritage at a time when local councils have been urged to speed up the supply of residential construction projects to address the city’s housing demands.

The Justice and Police Museum – located next to the Sir Stamford Hotel – lodged a submission to the City of Sydney Council raising concerns about the development, including noise, dust and traffic during construction phases.

The museum further warned that the development could have “significant disruptions” for the 30,000 visitors, including school children, who visit the museum each year by blocking entrances to the building and assembly points required for education programs.

In its submission, the museum wrote: “The ongoing noise, vibrations and dust from construction activities associated with the progress of development not only pose a significant risk to our daily operations, visitors and staff, but also risk damaging our heritage buildings and collections.”

Sydney’s InterContinental Hotel is also rallying against the development, claiming its “international brand positioning” would be “adversely impacted” – leading to losses of $14 million during construction periods.

The development was approved by the City of Sydney Council last week.

According to the hotel, this is partly due to the “aggressive and invasive” height of the development, which could obstruct harbour views, resulting in fewer suites able to be marketed to guests as offering the impressive vistas across Sydney Harbour.

“InterContinental Sydney currently attracts approximately 50 per cent of international visitors [and] this market will be adversely impacted with a reduced inventory of view rooms, as visitors will seek alternative accommodation,” the hotel’s area general manager, Jennifer Brown, wrote in a submission.

Despite objections from some landholders, the City of Sydney Council gave the green light to the development last week after finding it was consistent with local planning laws and the “desired future character of the area”.

Developer Macquarie Street Development Pty Ltd, in plans for the site, stated the project had been designed to minimise view impacts on neighbouring sites and would also “celebrate” the history of the Sir Stamford Hotel.

Plans to the council added that the project would provide a mix of housing to support current market demands and projected future demographic trends in the CBD.

Concerns over the development have been raised by some residents surrounding the site, including occupants of The Astor Building, once home to Cate Blanchett and her husband, Andrew Upton.

Brian White, chair of The Astor Building board, wrote to the council saying the development could block water-facing views that are “central to the residential amenity” of the building’s occupants and “homeowners’ asset values”.

Museums of History chief executive Annette Pitman said in a statement that staff are “working co-operatively with the developer to minimise impacts to our museum operations” and the institution would continue to operate throughout the construction phases of the development.

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