Housing & planning · Randwick City Council
31-apartment Randwick project approved after panel deferral
The Randwick Local Planning Panel unanimously approved the six-storey proposal at 21 Cook Street after requesting further information and amended plans.
Reporting from public council minutes. How this article was prepared
A six-storey, 31-apartment building at 21 Cook Street, Randwick, has been approved unanimously after the Randwick Local Planning Panel deferred the application on 6 November for additional information and amended plans.
The 9 November resolution grants consent for demolition of the existing building and structures, tree removal and construction of the residential flat building, two basement levels and 30 car parking spaces. The apartments comprise 14 one-bedroom, six two-bedroom, nine three-bedroom and two four-bedroom dwellings.
The panel also accepted a variation to the building-height development standard in clause 4.3 of the Randwick Local Environmental Plan 2012. It recorded that compliance was unreasonable and unnecessary in the circumstances and that sufficient environmental planning grounds supported the variation.
The approval requires several changes before a Construction Certificate can be issued. Upper-level side windows must be amended to provide highlight windows, the Level 5 front alignment must match the levels below, and planter boxes on Level 4 and Level 5 balconies must be removed. Habitable rooms must have at least 2.7 metres of floor-to-ceiling height.
Revised architectural plans incorporating the changes must be approved to the satisfaction of the Accredited Certifier. A landscape maintenance plan must also be submitted before an Occupation Certificate, with approved landscaping maintained for at least 12 months from the date of that certificate and failed plantings replaced.
The minutes do not give construction or occupation dates, so the timing of demolition, building work and any future move-in at 21 Cook Street is not specified in the record.
What deserves a closer look
The approval is conditional: the minutes require amended architectural plans to be approved before the Construction Certificate, rather than authorising construction on the original plans without further steps.
The minutes record the approval and its conditions but do not record when construction will begin or when the building could be occupied.
Questions for follow-up reporting
When will the applicant submit the amended architectural plans to the Accredited Certifier?
What construction and occupation dates will apply if the required plans are approved?
What happens next
Revised architectural plans incorporating the required amendments must be submitted, with the amendments approved to the satisfaction of the Accredited Certifier before the Construction Certificate is issued.
A Landscape Maintenance Plan must be submitted to the Principal Certifier before the Occupation Certificate is issued.
Approved landscaping must be maintained for at least 12 months from the date of the Occupation Certificate, with failed plantings replaced.
Check the record
These passages were matched to the source text. Read them in context in the original minutes.
The application was deferred at the 6 November 2026 meeting for additional information and amended plans.
Condition Reason: To ensure the landscaping is properly established and maintained during the initial 12-month establishment period. REASON: The Development Application (DA) was considered at the Randwick Local Planning Panel (RLPP) electronic meeting on 06 November 2026. At the meeting, the application was deferred for additional information and amended plans. The Panel has visited the site, considered the written submissions and reviewed the assessment report and supplementary report prepared by Council officers that addresses the relevant matters detailed in Section 4.15 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, as amended.
Reason for the 9 November resolution
Open original minutes ↗Required design amendments cover upper-level side windows, the Level 5 front alignment, Level 4 and Level 5 balcony planter boxes, a minimum 2.7-metre floor-to-ceiling height for habitable rooms and revised architectural plans.
Upper-level side elevation windows All fixed panes to the upper-level side elevation windows must be deleted and the remaining windows amended to ensure they are highlight windows to ensure privacy and amenity requirements. b. Level 5 front setback The front building alignment of Level 5 must be increased so that it aligns with the front wall of the levels below, ensuring a consistent vertical alignment to the street frontage. c. Level 4 and Level 5 planter boxes on balconies All planter boxes at Levels 4 and 5 balconies must be removed, and the associated balconies extended to the amended building line, with updated balustrade details shown on the plans. d. Minimum floor-to-ceiling height All habitable rooms must provide a minimum floor-to-ceiling height of 2.7 m, demonstrated on the amended architectural sections. e. Updated architectural plans Revised architectural plans must be submitted incorporating all required amendments, together with any consequential adjustments necessary to maintain compliance with the relevant design controls.
Amended Condition 2, design requirements
Open original minutes ↗Revised architectural plans must incorporate the required amendments, which must be approved before the Construction Certificate is issued, to the satisfaction of the Accredited Certifier.
d. Minimum floor-to-ceiling height All habitable rooms must provide a minimum floor-to-ceiling height of 2.7 m, demonstrated on the amended architectural sections. e. Updated architectural plans Revised architectural plans must be submitted incorporating all required amendments, together with any consequential adjustments necessary to maintain compliance with the relevant design controls. The above amendments shall be included into and approved prior to the issues of the Construction Certificate to the satisfaction of the Accredited Certifier. Condition Reason: To require amendments to the plans endorsed by the consent authority following assessment of the development.
Amended Condition 2, revised plans and approval requirement
Open original minutes ↗A landscape maintenance plan must be submitted to the Principal Certifier before the Occupation Certificate is issued, and approved landscaping must be maintained for at least 12 months from the date of that certificate, including replacement of failed plantings.
• Delete Condition 4 External Colours, Materials & Finishes • Add Condition 99A: Landscape Maintenance (12-Month Establishment Period) A Landscape Maintenance Plan must be prepared by a suitably qualified landscape professional and submitted to the Principal Certifier prior to the issue of an Occupation Certificate. All approved landscaping must be maintained for a minimum period of 12 months from the date of Occupation Certificate, including watering, mulching, pruning, fertilising, pest and disease management, and replacement of any failed plantings to ensure full establishment.
Added Condition 99A
Open original minutes ↗The minutes record that the resolution was carried unanimously.
• The scale and design of the proposal as amended and conditioned is suitable for the location and is compatible with the desired future character of the locality. CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Outcome recorded after the reasons for approval
Open original minutes ↗Source record
Reporting from the minutes of the Randwick Local Planning Panel electronic meeting held on 9 November 2026.
Key facts from the minutes
- The Randwick Local Planning Panel approved DA/1339/2025 on 9 November 2026.
- The approved proposal is a six-storey building with 31 apartments, two basement levels and 30 car parking spaces.
- The panel accepted a variation to the building-height standard in clause 4.3 of the Randwick Local Environmental Plan 2012.
- Revised plans must be approved before the Construction Certificate is issued.
- Landscaping must be maintained for at least 12 months from the date of the Occupation Certificate.
Why it matters
- The approval permits a substantial change to 21 Cook Street, including demolition, tree removal, basement construction and a 31-apartment building. The project remains subject to revised plans and later certification, with no construction or occupation date recorded in the minutes.