Update 2nd September 2021
Update on Rosebery Rosebery Estate Special Character Policy
Lord Mayor Clover more has written to Rosebery home owners with update on the Rosebery Estate Special Character Policy (SEPP) & if it will be extended after December 31, 2022.
By permitting two-story house projects and expansions to be allowed under a Complying Development Certificate and without adequate setbacks to maintain Rosebery’s single-story bungalow streetscape, the policy posed a harm to the unique character of the Rosebery Estate.
Here’s a summary of the letter:
“I was contacted by many residents with the same concerns, and I wrote to the Minister for Planning to request that the Rosebery Estate be excluded from the Codes SEPP. Following my advocacy, Rosebery Estate was temporarily exempted from 14 May 2021 until 31 December 2022.
The Minister has now advised me that while this temporary exemption will not be extended, the Department of Planning and Environment has agreed that any two-storey development or addition must be assessed as a development application, not approved as Complying Development.
This is a good outcome, and one that strikes a balance between maintaining Rosebery’s special character and providing certainty for landowners who wish to improve their properties.
The City’s established planning framework for the Rosebery Estate special character area will continue to apply for two-storey developments, which will ensure they are subject to thorough assessment and community consultation.
New houses and dual occupancies with a setback at the second level will be permissible subject to development application approval and compliance with the planning controls for the Rosebery Estate special character area.
Small types of development, including single-storey additions and decks, will be able to be approved under a Complying Development Certificate after 31 December 2022.
Any Complying Development Certificates in the Rosebery Estate must comply with both the Codes SEPP and the covenant that requires homes to be single storey.”
Our legal advice is
A two story development will still be allowed, only with a setback. A development application must be lodged via the City of Sydney for a review to make sure it complies with the Rosebery Estate special character.
CDC’s are allowed only for single story additions & decks.
CDC’s are not allowed for a two story development, like kit homes designed in Kellyville.
Any changes to current CDC’s will need to go via the City of Sydney for an approval & compliance review to ensure it meets with the planning controls for the Rosebery Estate special character area.
Any CDC’s in the Rosebery Estate must comply with both the Codes SEPP and the covenant that requires homes to be single storey.
Read the full letter below:
Updated 14th May 2021
A win for the Rosebery Community. Minister for Planning & Public Spaces Rob Stokes has ordered a temporary stop to any Rosebery Estate landowners being able to knock down a house & replace it with a ‘kit home’ or make alterations that don’t fit into the character of the Rosebery Estate.
The order comes into effect immediately (14h May 2021) & any landowners willing to do anything like a new single dwelling, alterations and/or additions, swimming pools, dual occupancies, manor houses and multi dwelling housing (terraces) will need to be lodge a Development Application with City of Sydney Council.
After careful consideration of the City of Sydney Council’s requests for an exemption, and the concerns raised in responses to the EIE, an amendment has been made to the Codes SEPP. The Rosebery Estate area (as identified in the EIE) will be excluded from the Housing Code and the Low Rise Housing Diversity Code until 31 December 2022.
So if you’re thinking of buying a house in Rosebery & knocking it down & replace it with something that looks like it belongs with all the other kit homes in Marsden Park, as of today you’ll need to lodge a Development Application with the City of Sydney who will review the application to make sure it fits into the Rosebery Estate requirements. Nearby residents will also be notified to make submissions on the proposal.
Well done Rosebery community. It’s a major win!
First published on 7th September 2020
“Rosebery Estate is Under Attack”
That’s the call by an emerging local community group.
A local community action group backed by Supreme Court lawyers is gathering momentum & is building a popular base amongst Rosebery residents who are calling out the City of Sydney for the lack of will by enforcing the State Environmental Planing Policy (SEPP).
In recent months locals are starting to become angry & frustrated when they see two story houses ‘kit homes’ being built by owners who don’t follow the 100 year old covenant that protects the character of the “Rosebery Estate”.
This has come because of the following:
- Clover Moore who in 2012 rubber stamped the removal of the Covenant.
- The NSW Government allowed Private Certifiers & Developers to go unchecked.
- Failure to ensure protect & enforce the single story streetscape character under the still legally biding Covenant by Clover Moores Planning Department & Head of the NSW Governments Director Eastern District, City of Sydney at NSW Department of Planning.
The current planning laws for Rosebery allows a two story dwelling to be built with no or little frontage with major overshadowing under a Complying Development Code (CDC). Only 14 days notice needs to be given neighbours who live in a 20m radius. City of Sydney & neighbours don’t have a say, residents then see these kit homes being built while the Private Certifiers are bypassing / ignoring the covenant.
The covenant was attached to the Deed of Sale on every parcel of land in 1912 when the Town Planning Company of Australia subdivided 121ha of land to make a ‘Model Industrial Suburb’. The subdivision which was called “Rosebery Model & Industrial Suburb”. It was promoted in a 1913 prospectus as ‘the ideal of the manufacturer and mechanic alike’, with ‘model factories and model homes’. Anyone who bought a residential lot in the estate could only build a one storey, double-fronted cottage. This legal covenant is still attached to Sale Contracts today!
The covenant covers 3,353 homes in the area bounded by Gardeners Rd, Gardeners Rd School, Botany Rd, Queen St, Dunning Ave, Cressy St, Rothschild Ave, Rosebery Ave, Dalmeny Ave, Kimberley Grove, Bannerman Crescent and back to Gardeners Rd. Rosebery was designed to be a “Working People’s Utopia”, allowing people to work in the nearby industrial area & be able to walk home.
An in person meeting with Lord Mayor Clover Moore & Rosebery residents has been organised by the Community Action Group* (*it currently has no name) on 12th September 2020 at 11am at Turruwul Park Rosebery, next to the Tennis courts.
COVID-19 restrictions & social distancing will be enforced. If attending, please wear a face mask. For further information please contact Wayne Moody on 0429 522 214.
Rosebery Community News has not accepted money to create awareness about this issue & meeting.
