The planning proposal area encompasses 203-209 and 223-227 Bronte Road, and 94 Carrington Street (Whitten Family Land), 229 Bronte Road (Reece Site 1), 231 Bronte Road and 98 Carrington Road (Reece Site 2), and 211-213 Bronte Road (Legions Club) in Waverley.

Four different parties own separate portions of this land.

Background

The Charing Square Planning Proposal was lodged by Knight Frank on behalf of the landowner of 203-209 & 223-227 Bronte Road, and 94 Carrington Road and accepted on 24 April 2020. This lodgement follows the unsuccessful appeal of a previous Planning Proposal to the State Planning Panel on 15 November 2020.

The current Planning Proposal

The Charing Square Planning Proposal seeks to amend the Waverley Local Environmental Plan 2012. The changes include an incentivised maximum (increased) permissible floor space ratio (FSR) and the maximum permissible height of buildings (HOB) on each of the six sites. This would allow for a greater yield of commercial and residential floor space, as per the below table. The ‘incentivised’ HOB and FSR will only be granted if the following conditions are satisfied:

• The buildings on site are delivered as high-performance buildings;
• A publicly accessible through site link connecting Bronte Road and Carrington Road is provided;
• A square accessible to the public is provided;
• The ground floor of development is to be used for non-residential premises only, except for any service and loading area or access to upper levels (such as a lobby area); and that
• Sufficient fabric of the façade (including return walls) and associated heritage significance detailing of 223–227 Bronte Road (contributory items in the heritage conservation area) are retained.

The zoning is to remain as B4 Mixed Use. Due to site topography, the Proposal also seeks to implement an Additional Local Provision allowing a possible minor variation to the height controls, to facilitate a consistent floor plate across the site, and where the development does not result in any unreasonable massing or amenity impacts. This will be considered at the Development Application stage.

Waverley Council has been authorised as the local plan-making authority. This means, Council will use community feedback received on the Planning Proposal, Design Guide and other accompanying documents available during this public exhibition, and the recommendations of Council Officers to make the final decision to support or not support the FSR and HOB amendments sought.

Design guide

If this Planning Proposal is supported and gazetted by Council, a Site-Specific Development Control Plan (DCP) will be drafted and publicly exhibited in 2022 for community comment. The Site-Specific DCP would provide detailed design guidance on any future development that seeks to access the incentivised uplift obtained by this Planning Proposal.

A Design Guide document has been prepared. The purpose is to provide guidance on what the future draft Site-Specific Development Control Plan (DCP) associated with this Planning Proposal may contain. Feedback received on this Design Guide during this public exhibition period will assist to inform any future draft Site-Specific DCP for these sites if the Planning Proposal is supported by Council.

Public benefit

The proponents of the Planning Proposal are seeking to offer the following as public benefits associated with the proposal:

• construction, maintenance of and access to a through site link and public square between Bronte and Carrington Roads;
• street tree planting along Carrington Road in line with Council’s Public Domain Improvement Plan;
• additional on-street car parking to Carrington Road;
• retention and repair of heritage façade at 223-227 Bronte Road; and a
• public artwork delivered within the site.

The Design Guide and subsequent Site-Specific Development Control Plan will provide the necessary guidance and details (including graphical information) to demonstrate how any public benefits would be incorporated into the site.

Staging

The sites included within this Planning Proposal are under separate ownership. It is therefore possible that the application for and construction of development using the proposed FSR and HOB uplift will occur in separate stages and/or never entirely delivered.

The public benefits are linked with several of the sites developing and using the increased FSR and HOB. It means that these proposed public benefits may be delivered in stages and/or never entirely delivered.

At the time of placing this Planning Proposal on public exhibition, Council has not received any correspondence from the owners of 229 Bronte Road (Reece Site 1), 231 Bronte Road and 98 Carrington Road (Reece Site 2), and 211-213 Bronte Road (Legions Club) in Waverley to indicate whether they are in support or not support of the Planning Proposal directly impacting their site.

Feedback

Waverley Council is seeking public feedback on all aspects of the Planning Proposal, particularly the following documents accessible in the ‘Document Library’:

• Planning Proposal
• Example Additional Local Provision
• Design Guide
• Proposed Maps

Other supplementary documents in the ‘Document Library’ include concept design drawings, investigative reports, and pre-gateway documentation.

How to have your say

Once you have read the Planning Proposal and accompanying documents in the ‘Document Library’ feel free to provide any feedback.

To comment, please submit your feedback by 11.59pm, Sunday 6 February 2022 through one of the following methods:

• Providing an online submission
• Email to info@waverley.nsw.gov.au (reference SF21/5272) or upload a document in the feedback form
• Post to: General Manager, Waverley Council, PO Box 9, Bondi Junction, NSW 1355 (reference SF21/5272)

Next steps: 

Council officers will review community feedback and prepare a recommendation to Council.

Council will consider the proposal, the community feedback and the Council officer’s recommendation. They will decide to support or not support the proposed changes.

If the changes proposed are supported then a development application will still need to be submitted before any construction occurs. This step of the process will provide another opportunity for the community to provide feedback on the detailed design.