Randwick panel refuses 8-storey Maroubra apartment block at 57 Robey Street

Randwick City Council’s local planning panel has refused consent for an 8-storey apartment project at 57 Robey Street, Maroubra, after finding the scheme was too big for the site and failed a long list of planning tests. The unanimous decision was made at the Randwick Local Planning Panel (Public) meeting on 26 March 2026.

The application, DA/1415/2025, sought demolition of existing building and structures, tree removal and construction of a residential flat building with 16 apartments, including three affordable housing units, above a single basement level with 10 car spaces. The panel refused the proposal under section 4.16 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

Its reasons covered zoning, height, design, parking, amenity and information gaps. The panel said the proposal did not recognise the existing streetscape and built form, did not protect residents’ amenity and did not encourage housing affordability. It also said the applicant had not shown the non-compliances with the number-of-storeys standard were unreasonable or unnecessary, or backed by sufficient environmental planning grounds.

The panel found the development was incompatible with the character of the local area, and said the Randwick Design Advisory Panel did not support it because the design quality was inadequate. It listed failures against apartment design criteria covering communal open space, deep soil, visual privacy, bicycle and car parking, and solar and daylight access.

The refusal also cited inadequate canopy tree coverage, non-compliance with required parking rates, and unresolved issues around contamination, earthworks and electricity supply. The panel said the project did not exhibit design excellence and did not comply with multiple controls in the Randwick Development Control Plan 2013, including waste management, transport, parking and access, laneway road widening, medium density residential controls and adaptable housing.

The panel said the site’s suitability for the development had not been adequately demonstrated. It also found the proposal was not in the public interest, citing the number of planning breaches and objections raised in public submissions.

For residents near 57 Robey Street, the application cannot proceed as lodged. The applicant can revise the design or pursue appeal options.

The panel said it had visited the site, considered oral and written submissions and reviewed Council’s assessment report. It agreed the project was an overdevelopment of the site.

The same meeting also dealt with 3 Bona Vista Avenue, Maroubra, where the panel said the proposed parking solution using shared stackers, a single access lane driveway, no waiting bay and deficient parking spaces was unacceptable. It also noted the proposal would jeopardise the continued implementation of the Ferguson Street road widening plan.

Randwick Council’s plan to widen Ferguson Street had been progressively implemented through DA processes for some time.