The Mosman mega-lot and the childcare centre in its shadow

A controversial plan to demolish 12 Mosman homes to make way for a seven-storey apartment block with more than 100 units has sparked community concerns over child safety, as residents fear construction could create excessive noise, pollution, and overshadowing for an 80-year-old centre next door.

In June, 12 home owners on Brierley Street and Rangers Avenue in Mosman joined forces to sell their houses as an amalgamated 5369 square metre mega-lot site where a seven-storey luxury apartment complex with 103 units could be built. The site is 500 metres from Cremorne town centre and two kilometres from Mosman’s strip of shops on Military Road.

The development application was lodged in December and outlines plans for three floors of basement car parking. Residents are concerned excavation on the site that shares a fence with childcare centre SDN Mosman, which caters for 56 children, will result in prolonged periods of high noise levels disrupting nap periods, fine dust pollution, and overshadowing of outdoor play areas.

If approved, the $123 million development would be the largest residential flat building in Mosman to date, a council spokesperson confirmed.

It is also one of the largest projects lodged under the NSW government’s low- and mid-rise planning reforms enacted in February last year, which permits dual occupancies, terraces, townhouses, and apartment buildings up to six storeys tall within an 800-metre radius of 171 town centres and transport hubs. It is a key pillar of the Minns government’s efforts to meet the National Housing Accord target of 377,000 new homes in NSW by July 2029.

SDN chief executive Kay Turner stressed the centre was not “anti-development for housing.

“Housing has to go in somebody’s backyard, we know that. But we absolutely need careful consideration of young children … the risks for children and families are different to other types of infrastructure,” she said.

“Should the development proceed without changes to mitigate these impacts, SDN may be forced to consider the closure of this centre, an outcome none of us wish to see.”

Catherine Gowen’s youngest daughter attends SDN Mosman in Brierley Street a few days a week, and said the development, if approved, would be a major blow to the centre.

“It would be hazardous to be open, given the vibrations from drilling, dust, and noise from the construction. It’s absolutely detrimental to the childcare centre. I don’t think it would survive the impacts of the development if it goes on for years,” she said.

Frank Scarf, director of developer Arissa Group, said safeguards such as dust mesh and other mitigating measures can be put in place to reduce impacts.

“Of course, construction is construction, right? It’s definitely going to generate some sort of noise and disruption, but it all comes down to what is proposed in the development consent.”

Turner said SDN and Arissa Group representatives met late in the development process, just over a week before the development application was lodged with Mosman Council.

In February, Arissa Group lodged an appeal after Mosman Council took longer than 40 days to determine the outcome of the development application. The NSW Land and Environment Court will now be the determining authority.

Banding together to sell homes to create mega-lots is on the rise in inner-city suburbs as home owners seek to capitalise on rising land values and various rezoning rules. Elsewhere in Mosman, there is a $43.9 million plan to turn five homes on Awaba Street into a six-storey apartment building with 29 units, which developers Metis Group have waged a court battle with Mosman Council over.

The council is preparing a long-term strategic masterplan seeking to amend how the LMR housing policy is applied in Mosman, particularly in key areas where the council believes there is a detrimental impact. The plan could take between eight months and two years to develop.

The government’s housing reforms also include specific targets for each local government area across Sydney. Mosman was set a goal of 500 homes by 2029 – lower than other inner-city councils, such as the 5900 target in North Sydney and 2400 in Waverley.

Increased traffic, overshadowing, a loss of privacy, and the overall scale of the Rangers Avenue and Brierley Street development not matching the area’s low-density suburban streets were among other concerns raised in the 554 submissions residents sent to the council.

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