Appeal proceeds on Nine’s Willoughby site

The NSW Planning Assessment Commission has said Nine’s target for 450 apartments in the development of its Willoughby site exceeds “reasonable levels.”

Both Nine and the Planning ­Assessment Commission appeared in the NSW Land & Environment Court this week.

Nine is appealing a planning decision to reduce the $200m redevelopment from 450 to 350 high rise apartments.

Nine Network is hoping to reinstate 450 dwellings and maximum height of 12 storeys. The Australian reports Nine argued the proposal was “not an over­development of the site and is not otherwise unacceptable”.

But the Planning ­Assessment Commission said what Nine wants “exceeds reasonable levels given the location and context of the site”, specifically its location away from infrastructure and its location atop a ridge. It noted the reduction in the number of dwellings was purely because the towers had been reduced in height.

The original plan was for around 600 apartments but it had been scaled back after community consultation.