All recent comments on applications from Lane Cove Council, NSW

Objection to Proposed Property Development at No 104 Arabella Street, Longueville – DA Application No 75/2024
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to formally lodge an objection to the proposed property development at No 104 Arabella Street, Longueville, as referenced above. My objection primarily concerns the loss of views from our property at No. 73 Arabella Street, Longueville.
1. Nature and Value of Views Impacted
The proposed development, specifically the construction of an Art Studio and Lift Shaft to the top level of the building, will obstruct the views from our main living room towards Woodford Bay. These views are accessed through the one of the main existing view corridors between the trees, which will be blocked by the new structures that are proposed to extend above the current roofline.
Our property already has limited views due to existing tree coverage, making this view corridor to the water a crucial aspect of our main living space. The design of our sunroom and ground-floor terrace was specifically oriented to capture and enjoy this water view. The proposed development, therefore, represents an unacceptable loss of these views, which are a key feature of our daily living experience.
2. Reasonableness of the Proposal and Design Alternatives
The proposed Art Studio and Lift Shaft, in their current form, seem unreasonable given the significant impact they will have on our views. The necessity of these additions, particularly given the extent of the impact on neighbouring properties, is questionable.
I believe that alternative designs could be explored that would allow the development to proceed without obstructing our views. Such alternatives should be carefully considered to preserve the view corridors from our main living area, where my family and I spend a substantial amount of our time enjoying the scenery of Woodford Bay and the sailing boats.
In light of the above, I respectfully request that the development plans be revised to address these concerns. We urge the consideration of alternative designs that will mitigate the impact on our views and maintain the character and enjoyment of our property.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Yours sincerely,

Charles Slack-Smith
No. 73 Arabella Street
Longueville, NSW

I am concerned about the scale of the proposed development at 40A Cope Street, Lane Cove. 52 units with limited parking seems excessive given the small size of the block. The very limited access along Caroline Chisholm Lane is of great concern.Cope Street is already a highly congested road. The intersection between Penrose Street and Burns Bay Road is a notorious bottle neck. Turning into it from Cope Street is very difficult. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be for construction traffic. The construction phase would be a nightmare for local residents and particularly for the elderly, those with young families, people working from home and the residents of the current nursing home.

What will be the measurement and mitigation of construction noises? All developers of course promised noise will be monitored and controlled but in reality it will be unbearable - all the residents in Lane Cove North will tell you how terribly their lives were impacted by digging holes for new apartments - and Council approved all of them merrily. With wave and wave of new covid variants keep coming, we can establish that working from home will be a norm for the foreseeable future. The noise level through the day should be controlled as in the evenning as much more people will be around and suffer from it.

The proposed development is big and very ambitious for an area with narrow roads and limited access.
Traffic is already busy considering all the units and houses currently in the area having only two streets to access and only one to exit.
Trying to turn Caroline Chrisholm into two-way street will be impossible considering there are car spots and trees that might need to be removed.
The excavation required to build the basement for parking is a big concern as it can produce structural damages to the nearby properties.
Additionally, the project says "accessible close public transport" but the really nearest bus stop outside peak hours is in Burns Bay Road by the petrol station which will be very challenging for an older person using a walker.
The project is also offering transport to and from Lane Cove village, however, it won't be any space to park a bus on the streets around. Currently the Garbage Trucks struggle to navigate the narrow roads and parked cars.
There is a plan to remove some of the sandstone wall along Burns Bay Road which is listed as an item of local heritage.
If trees need to be cut, Lane Cove Bushland & Conservation Society needs to be involved as well as there are many protected trees around this area.
The safety of old people and the quality of life of the current residents of the area needs to be considered by Council before going ahead with this project.

In addition access to Hartman reserve, down Caroline Chisholm Lane, with shared access to wheelchairs, pedestrians and cars is a significant safety issue. There is wheelchair access to a platform within the reserve. This access is not marked on the plans submitted by the developers. Previous developers have been denied access down Lady Caroline Lane with good reason. It is far toonarrow for safe access.

The proposed development appears to be too big to be added to an already congested area. There are alaredy two decent size apartment complex relying on a single narrow street with cars parked on both sides to get in an out.

Adding another development to the street would not only worsen the congestion during peak hour, it can also put all residents at Cope Street at serious risk when emergency services are required - especially during construction.

The existing apartments on the street are more than a half century old. People living in these apartment are not there for luxury. They are young renters trying to make ends meet, first home owners starting a family and seniors who love the tranquillity but can't afford the more luxury options in the area.

More aged care facilities in Lane Cove sounds like a great idea. However, they should not be developed at the cost of other residents' quality of life.

The development is far too big for the site especially for the immediate local environment. This includes car congestion as there is already serious traffic issue along cope street, Centennial Road, and River Road.

One of the existing old white painted buildings is considered to have very high conservation value due to its unique architectural design and detailing which are so rare in Lane Cove suburb. It has the unique verandahs, chimneys and window detailing of the last century of the same period as Carisbrook House Museum which is a stone throw away. It is of very high conservation value and should be retained in the development proposal. I strong urged Council to get a qualified conservation/heritage architect to assess the historical value of this white building which is under the threat of demolition. The current development plan needs to take this into serious consideration especially by the Council regarding its conservation and retention.

This section of Cope Street already has issues with traffic. Cars need to operate in a mutually understood contra flow from either end of the road to safely get through. The traffic report is suspect in my opinion. If council were to attend on a Friday morning they could witness cars, utes, the 251 bus and garbage trucks trying to navigate the street. It is of major concern that this will be exacerbated with the large amount of traffic added for construction including large trucks and post construction with delivery trucks and additional resident parking added.
If this development had access from Burns Bay Road this would be more acceptable.
The behaviour of the builder for a similar development on Longueville Road opposite The Diddy is also a concern with blatant disregard for the neighbours and residents of Lane Cove.

I think the council should be considering about environment where we have now. The high rise buildings stand out from the crowd could destroyed the peace of the original design, broke the balance and atmosphere comfort in the area.
There will be significant reduced privacy for surrounding properties and sunlight will be blocked for existing properties as well.
The traffic, noise pollution and mess are not only impacted during construction period but also affected further on Cope street and Burns Bay road.
Any development in this area is not fair for old people who are living in Caroline Aged Care for last quite and peaceful time. It is also not fair for all residents enjoy the peaceful environment for a quality of life.

The entire house has been demolished!

'Oldies', of whom I am one, often wish to stay close to their own neighbourhood when they can no longer care for themselves at home. There is logic in the existing aged care home being extended, if there is space.

This planning alert is also about addressing issues like building design, size, traffic movement, and parking, as well as fair impact on existing residents. Already there is a traffic issue in Cope Street. Here near the corner, a Sydney Bus now terminates and stands waiting. This ordinary suburban street is not wide, especially at the Burns Bay Road corner. With more traffic, including emergency, and delivery vehicles, this, would need to be overcome. Practical adjustments are needed here.

The actual compromise answer may well lie in a reduction in how many new aged care units are proposed, but operations and resident facilities should not be put at risk.

I think the seniors housing development in Cope Street is a terrific idea! I’m a senior who has lived in Lane Cove for over 55 years and more facilities to keep oldies like me in the area is ideal! I’m looking to downsize, and to be able to remain in the area I love (and have been active in and contributed to all my adult life) is very comforting and appealing. We oldies are the ones who have made Lane Cove what it is today and to not be welcome to remain here by some selfish snooty “Johnny come lately’s” for our remaining years is rather disrespectful, ageist and concerning. We “old folk” may be getting on a bit in years but we certainly aren’t dead yet nor are we not still valued members of this fantastic Lane Cove community. Just because you may not always be able to park your third family BMW on-street and not in your already full double garage shouldn’t be a reason why the proposed development shouldn’t go ahead!

7am-6pm working times will be too extensive and noise manage measures need to be reviewed as many residents including me working from home now.

Parking and traffic flow would be a nightmare on what is already an extremely tight street

52 units would create considerable extra traffic to an already congested street. I believe the development has not achieved access to Burns Bay Road so all traffic is likely to enter and leave via Lady Caroline Chisholm Lane onto Penrose Street. Limited parking spaces on the development will lead to even more parking on Cope Street.
The footprint created by the heritage sandstone wall will be destroyed.
‘ The sandstone retaining wall would be impact by removing a section of the wall approximately 8.5m long to enable the substation to be positioned where it can be accessed for maintenance. The stone to be removed will be salvaged and reused on a low-height wall nearby. The relocated stones will be bonded with lime mortar so that they can be restored to their original location if circumstances change…’
Council needs to look at the whole perimeter of the wall and it’s entrances because I do not believe it has all been heritage listed.

Cope street is a residential street that has parking issues and buses going along it as it is. A Doctor’s consulting room is a business and will set a precedent for other like businesses to start up and make the street even busier with all that entails. Signage is also not appropriate and no clear advice has been given on what form this will take.

The signage looks very high and dominant in the area but is difficult to judge the scale because of lack of reference to surrounding buildings as it is illustrated in the plans. Please Council in your consideration pay careful note to this point.

The signage looks very high and dominant in the area but is difficult to judge the scale because of lack of reference to surrounding buildings as it is illustrated in the plans. Please Council in your consideration pay careful note to this point.

This needs to be thoroughly investigated and appropriate action taken against the developer. We cannot afford to be removing mature trees.

I'm now concerned about the trees being poisoned in this site. This must be investigated and appropriate fines given. Also replacement of these trees must take place.

I was a tennant on the group of houses nearly 2 years ago, both active tennant in two houses were evicted at the same time, citing the development would commence.
straight away there was evidence of trees being poisoned in both 23A and 23B Austin st, and new tennant found straight away after a month or two.
It is of my opinion the delay in submission was to eradicate the 'problem' trees, and the only way that they could do that was to remove the tennants to access the property to do it.
I would be looking EXTREMELY close at the tree situation on this site given the apparent foul play on the large trees here.

1. the street set back on Canberra Avenue do not meet the requirements. actually the design make the path very difficult for public to use. They can easy to follow street path to meet the set back requirement.
2. the solar access of building 11 & 9 are below 50%. it is very low standard design.
3. the car park number: it seems many units do not have car space. it would force the residents leave the car on the street. This is a big issue.
4. the privacy, especially on river road site. they should use design feature to improve.
overall this is a high density, but low standard design. the council should refuse it. Otherwise, it would make other DAs worse.

This application should be refused. There is already way too much high-rise being built in this area and there is no need for another 319 apartments. Newlands Park will soon be standing room only.

Signage if OK as long as it is not obtrusive and is in sympathy with the surrounding area

I support this application. This will help increase density around hospitals. People really struggle to find place to live around this area as most houses are built on large block of land.