If a developer can break the rules, why can’t we? Roseville residents’ high-rise beef

Ku-ring-gai homeowners constrained by strict heritage rules have been left feeling bewildered after a nine-storey apartment building on a neighbouring block was approved, while they must continue to abide by the same restrictions. 

What happened: For some North Shore residents, minor home modifications can be a complicated process. Those living in heritage protected areas of Roseville, for example, can have a development application for a new garage door or solar panel installation rejected by council.

While these rules are something anyone buying in a heritage area are made aware of, they have resulted in a strange reality along Lord Street in Roseville, where a developer has been allowed to build a high-rise apartment complex, while neighbouring residents are rejected for minor modifications. 

One local homeowner told the Lorikeet that neighbours have had modifications, including a raised garage roof, pushed back by council. They said when renovating their house, they needed council approval on specific shades of paint. 

The strict rules on modifications and renovations are due to the fact Lord Street falls within a Heritage Conservation Area (HCA), which severely limits modification to existing houses. 

• While a heritage listing protects an individual site or building, an HCA covers a larger area, and can even span whole suburbs, such as in Hunter’s Hill, Castlecrag and Haberfield.

How did it happen: The apartment blocks going up along Roseville Avenue were approved as a State Significant Development under the Transport Oriented Development scheme. 

• Ku-ring-gai Council was ultimately able to circumvent this scheme by putting forward its own alternative plan, promising the same amount of housing but concentrating it closer to Lindfield and Gordon. 

The Roseville Avenue development, however, was lodged before this alternative plan was in place.

What now: With the apartment complex approved and the developer preparing for construction, Ku-ring-gai Council told the Lorikeet home owners in surrounding streets will need to follow the same heritage rules.

The development proposal attracted more than 800 objections, and many focused on the impact on the suburb’s heritage status.

However, Sydney YIMBY — a group advocating for increased housing across Australian cities — criticised the concept of protecting whole areas or suburbs.

A 2024 NSW Productivity Commission report into housing affordability found HCAs were a major obstacle in building more properties in Sydney, and were driving up prices for buyers and renters across the city.