Randwick panel refuses 74 St Marks Road apartment plan

Randwick Local Planning Panel has refused DA/1456/2025 for 74 St Marks Road, Randwick, after visiting the site and hearing public deputations at its 14 May meeting. The application was rejected unanimously.

The proposal sought demolition of existing buildings and structures, tree removal and construction of a six-storey residential flat building with 11 apartments and two basement levels containing 20 car parking spaces. It was assessed under section 4.16 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

The panel found the site did not qualify for the low and mid-rise housing inner area controls. It said the applicant's reliance on a 400-metre walking distance via a rear pedestrian pathway was not supported because the path was not a safe, direct and publicly accessible access route.

It also said the design failed the Housing SEPP's design quality principles, and did not meet Apartment Design Guide objectives covering building separation, visual and acoustic privacy and solar access.

The panel said the bulk, scale and intensity of the proposal were incompatible with the existing and desired future character of the locality. It said the six-storey form was too large for St Marks Road, where properties front the area intended to be generally limited to four storeys and a 1.5:1 floor space ratio.

Heritage was another issue. The panel said the proposal did not appropriately respond to nearby heritage item Farnham House, Item I366, and that its bulk, scale and upper-level setbacks would have an adverse impact on the heritage curtilage and surrounding streetscape.

There were also site and engineering concerns. The panel said the preliminary site investigation left data gaps, including possible groundwater contamination and uncertainty about site classification. Without a detailed site investigation, it said it could not be satisfied the land was suitable for residential redevelopment.

The refusal also cited earthworks, setbacks, roof design, wall lengths, external wall height, solar access and overshadowing controls in the Randwick Development Control Plan 2013/2023. The panel said the cumulative non-compliances meant the proposal was not in the public interest.

Public deputations were heard before the panel moved into closed deliberations. Objectors Robert Goetz and Laura Gandy spoke on the Randwick application, and Angus Thomsen spoke in support.

The panel said the application was not in the public interest because of its inconsistency with the Housing SEPP, Randwick Local Environmental Plan 2012, the Apartment Design Guide and Randwick Development Control Plan 2013/2023.