A high-rise development on Jennifer St in Little Bay will proceed, following the approval of amended plans and a successful appeal, after a previous dismissal of the development application to protect the flora and fauna at the site.
The residential project, which will deliver apartments and townhouses near the Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub, has already been advertised after the developer won its appeal with the Land and Environment Court (LEC).
Though the project has been seen as a likely threat to local wildlife such as the Maroubra Woodland Snail, Randwick City Council said that it will respect the decision of the LEC.
In 2021, Council disapproved the Jennifer St development application to protect the flora and fauna on the site. Community groups also rallied against the proposal because of fears of the destruction of banksia scrub.
However, the developers amended and then escalated their plans with the LEC, which decided to approve the application in October 2022. The new plans now comprise 83 apartments, down from 95, as well as “tree removal, native vegetation maintenance, species relocation, landscaping and associated works through bushland management practice.”
Based on the amended plans, Council stated that the development “does not cause adverse serious and irreversible impact to biodiversity values or likely to affect threatened species.”
A spokesperson for the Council also said that they will see to it that the developer will implement all agreed conditions in the appeal.
Published 1 February 2023