Plans to redevelop a Whale Beach property into private residential units with a 170-seat cafe for the community have been disapproved.
In January 2021, the Cassar family, who are well-known in the aviation tourism industry, received approval to demolish their old apartment block and redevelop the site as a mixed-use facility via REV2021/0034.
Initially, the family wanted two eateries on their property. One will be located by Whale Beach Rd and the other will be at the Surf Rd entrance.
However, the planners asked the Cassars to merge both eateries into one site on the ground floor to contain the potential traffic and noise.
Thus, the family submitted modifications (MOD2021/0983) to the approved proposal a year later but was met with strong objections from the locals due to the size of the cafe. More than 120 submissions were filed with the Northern Beaches Local Planning Panel.
“This type of development will destroy the lifestyle of those who live there. It will not simply be dreading the weekends and yet another function, it will taint their week and how they feel about the place,” one local said, pointing out that Whale Beach’s total population is only 250.
The Whale Beach Property Surf Life Saving Club, which is next door to the property, also submitted its objection, citing the following reasons.
“We have remained neutral on the proposed development until now, as it presented no obvious consequences to our core objectives. However, with this variation, we have concerns that a further substantial restaurant or function centre for 170 patrons at Whale Beach will overwhelm the available infrastructure.
- There is almost no public transport to the area, and none during weekends.
- There is virtually zero access for full-sized passenger buses, especially in summer weekends
- when the proposed venue would have peak usage.
- There is very limited street parking.
- Parking in the NBC beach parking area is also limited, and often unavailable during summer.
- The proposed development caters for minimal additional parking.
- Already all Whale Beach local roads are reduced to one lane of traffic most of the time.
- Occasionally surf safety incidents require quick access for emergency vehicles, which would be seriously compromised by traffic congestion caused by the proposed venue.”
Despite recommended consolidation of the eateries, which the Cassar family complied with, the Northern Beaches Local Planning Panel decided, in early August 2022, to reject the modifications as failed to demonstrate how they will “not create unacceptable traffic and safety impacts in the area.”
Anthony Cassar said that, whether the eateries were in one large ground floor area or two separate smaller areas in the building, it was always going to be a 170-seater. He insisted that they are not asking to increase the numbers of patrons but their plans for the redevelopment will make a big improvement into an eyesore.