development · Woollahra Municipal Council
Rose Bay tower approval challenged over 110-space basement and excavation risks
Woollahra councillors voted 13-0 to object to the state-approved, nine-storey project at 2-16 Spencer Street, citing cumulative traffic, groundwater, settlement and flooding concerns.
Woollahra Council has voted 13-0 to challenge approval of a nine-storey, 54-unit development at 2-16 Spencer Street, Rose Bay, citing its 110-space basement and the risks of an 11-metre excavation across an area undergoing concentrated development.
The council will make representations to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces and state political leaders over State Significant Development application SSD-86122958, approved by the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.
Council said the approved 110 car spaces exceeded its 50-space development control limit for accessible areas. It also said the applicant’s Transport Impact Assessment failed to address cumulative traffic from multiple low- and mid-rise developments in Rose Bay, and that peak-hour traffic projections were likely understated.
The objection focuses on a three-level basement excavation extending 11 metres below ground. Council said the applicant’s hydrogeological and geotechnical assessment did not adequately address the combined groundwater, settlement and floodwater impacts of development across Rose Bay.
Those projects include 20 low- and mid-rise State Significant Development Applications and development applications, heavily clustered around the Wilberforce Avenue, Dover Road and Carlisle Street corridor, as well as Spencer Street.
Council also questioned the state assessment of affordability. Its household-by-household modelling found that none of the 24 household types assessed could afford the proposed affordable apartments. Council said the finding was not adequately addressed in the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure’s assessment report.
The resolution records concerns about a review by engineering consultant PSM. Council said the review used its own assessment criteria rather than applying Council’s 2024 development control plan, which was updated after a 2024 GHD report on Rose Bay’s hydrogeological and geotechnical impacts.
Council also noted that the PSM review provided no cumulative groundwater modelling, identified no mechanism to monitor or enforce permanent tanking conditions across separately owned developments, and addressed vibration limits that differ from Council’s adopted limits.
The vote does not overturn the state approval. It commits Woollahra Council to representations about the project and the cumulative effects of development in Rose Bay, including traffic, parking, groundwater drawdown, settlement, flooding and excavation risks.
Reference minutes
Woollahra Municipal Council Ordinary Council Meeting, 27 July 2026.
Key facts from the minutes
- The project at 2-16 Spencer Street, Rose Bay, is approved as a nine-storey development with 54 units.
- The approved basement contains 110 car spaces, compared with Council’s 50-space development control limit for accessible areas.
- Council voted 13-0 to object to SSD-86122958 and make representations to state political leaders.
- The proposed basement excavation is 11 metres deep and spans three basement levels.
- Council identified 20 low- and mid-rise State Significant Development Applications and development applications across Rose Bay.
- Council’s modelling found none of 24 assessed household types could afford the proposed affordable apartments.
- Council raised concerns about cumulative traffic, groundwater drawdown, settlement, flooding and construction vibration.
Why it matters
- The state-approved project adds 54 homes and 110 basement parking spaces at 2-16 Spencer Street, while Woollahra Council says cumulative traffic and excavation risks across Rose Bay remain unresolved.