We Must Demolish These Apartment Buildings Because They Are 10 Feet Too High

If a block of flats is structurally sound, but exceeds the size originally approved by the local council, how is it anything but lunacy to demolish it, so that a new block can be built which does meet the specifications of the original development application?

But that is exactly what the Land and Environment Court has ruled must happen to two blocks of a total of 12 flats at 55 Cross St, Guildford, presumably at the request of Parramatta Council. Mad though the Court may be, it is unlikely it would have ordered the vacation and demolition of the blocks had the Council not requested it.

What about the tenants? Why are they being punished because of a dodgy developer? The financial cost? The wastage of resources?

Justice Malcolm Craig states in the Court’s recent judgment, upholding the demolition order that he is “mindful of the plight of tenants” (para 59). Very mindful, turning them out onto the street. In para 51 of the judgment, Justice Craig states that

“… action in belatedly seeking to have the tenancies on the Site terminated were not taken in a manner likely to achieve an expeditious result. Initially, only an "oral notice" was given to tenants. It was not until 13 June 2012 that notices were served on tenants…”

So, the Court is well aware the tenants have had, in any reasonable person’s view, insufficient time to find appropriate, alternative accommodation. Yet the good Justice Craig still saw fit to turf more than 30 people out of their homes.

Para 52 of the judgment implies the Court has no reason to believe the apartment blocks are structurally unsound or otherwise unsafe. Thus, the only reason for their demolition must be that their construction contravenes Council planning regulations and what was approved in the DA.

The original 2006 DA approved 10 dwellings, including 2 two story apartment blocks on the site. In fact, the site now contains 2 three story blocks instead. There are a total of 14 dwellings instead of the allowed 10 and some have more bedrooms than were approved, thus providing the tipping point for runaway climate change and the end of civilization.

We can reasonably assume construction was completed in 2007, so people have been living in the apartments for approximately 5 years. The buildings are apparently safe for habitation, just about 10 feet too high and perhaps a bit wider than they should be. It’s hardly the end of the world. I doubt it’s destroyed the natural beauty of the neighbourhood. It’s fucking Guilford, for Christ’s sake.

Sydney has a well documented undersupply of dwelling stock, particularly at the cheaper end of the market. Yet the Kafkaesque response of Parramatta Council and the Land and Environment Court is to demolish the buildings and build some new ones instead of leaving the buildings in place and issuing a massive fine to the developer. How about a fine equal to the market value of the unauthorized construction, plus all legal costs? That would probably come to about $1.5M. The community would gain some income instead of this absurd wastage and dislocation of more than 30 innocent people who are probably struggling enough as it is.

Parramatta Council did not take court action against the developer until September, 2010. How could it have taken them three years to find out about the problem? By then, it was really too late.

Let’s engage in some honest analysis here. A woman named Suheir Zreik puts in a DA for two blocks of flats. Is she going to build them herself? Perhaps some alarm bells might start ringing. Maybe she’s acting as a front for someone else. Maybe we’d better closely supervise this construction project. Let’s not lie and pretend people from Middle Eastern cultural backgrounds are low risk candidates for non-compliance with DAs.

Did no-one from the Council ever think to inspect the builder’s construction plans prior to work commencing? Or to stop by and inspect the development as it was proceeding? This is just incompetence from the Council, which they now seek to compound by the dumbest possible “solution”.

A look at the composition of Parramatta Council shows that it is not dominated by any one group. There are 6 ALP, 6 Liberal and 3 independent councilors from a variety of backgrounds (thankfully, no Greens). At best, you could say it’s a diverse parade of idiots. A good example of the extremely poor calibre of local government in this country.

This episode is the kind of surreal lunacy people expected to end when the ALP was turfed out of government in NSW. The Liberals generally run on a platform of sensible, pragmatic government, in particular, cutting waste. Yet a local council with 6 Liberals and 3 independents out of 15 is responsible for this farce.

With campaigning for the local government elections about to begin in earnest, the tenants should refuse to move out. Let the ratepayers of Parramatta know who is responsible for this moronic waste of their money, not to mention throwing more than 30 people out of their homes.

Additionally, the NSW planning minister, Brad Hazzard should step in and use his powers to fix this problem in a sensible manner which looks after the interests of the tenants. In a liberal democracy, it’s citizens who decide on planning rules. Government’s role is to enact our wishes. People may wish to email the Minister and remind him of this fact.