The 13-14 storey SSDA’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and annexures including its Statement of Heritage Impact (SoHI) went on public exhibition on the NSW Planning Portal webpage for SSD-90134958 in late April with comments closing two weeks later on 7 May.

Total number of objections is over 1052 with the total number of all submissions for the SSDA being more than 1298.

The Walter Burley Griffin Society Inc. (WBGS) engaged Desim Pty Ltd to prepare its Submission to OBJECT to the SSD-90134958 (Castlecrag Mixed use development), submitted by Edinburgh Development Group Pty Ltd (the applicant), for a shop top housing at 100 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag (Lot 11/DP 611594). Below is the Executive Summary from the 146 page submission made to the NSW Department of Planning on 5 May 2026:

Castlecrag was planned and partly developed by the distinguished American architects Walter Burley Griffin and his wife, Marion Mahony Griffin – the creators of our national Capital. Besides plans for Canberra, the creation of Castlecrag was their major achievement in Australia.

The planning history and architectural values of the existing subdivision pattern, urban morphology and individual houses in the Griffin Heritage Conservation Area (HCA) at Castlecrag is of national and international significance. Castlecrag is an example of town planning and urban design that is like no other in Australia of any time.

The detailed analysis of the SSD application package has revealed that the applicant’s proposal for two 13-14 storey high residential towers to replace the current DA 2024/13 (5 storey high) is unacceptable. The scale, massing, and architectural design of the SSD proposal will completely ruin the existing physical structure of the historical Castlecrag Estate. A unique, innovative suburb such as Castlecrag should be preserved for the future generations.
NSW Transport Oriented Development Program and the NSW Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy do not apply to the project site. The site is not identified as planned residential growth land in the Draft Sydney Plan 2025.

The review of the submitted SSD architectural plans and accompanying reports reveals significant numbers of errors, misleading statements and invalid conclusions. The SSD proposal does not comply with the Apartment Design Guidelines.

The community of Castlecrag and the WBGS members support the redevelopment of the subject site. They strongly endorsed the approved design, scale and building massing proposed in the existing DA 2024/13 which was approved on 3 December 2024.

Any redevelopment of this land must speak to the same type of inspired architectural vision as the rest of Castlecrag built on the Griffins’ urban design principles. To preserve the Griffin HCA, the local centre urban morphology must be congruent with the rest of the heritage area.

It is evident that the purpose of the proposed SSD is to maximise profits for the developer and investors. It is not to meet the need for affordable housing and achieve social outcomes in support of Sydney residents. While profit is a fundamental driver for any business, it cannot be the sole motive and must be balanced with other social, cultural and heritage values that must be sustained.

The blanket supply of residential development in the wrong places, enabled by the new SSD pathway, will have unprecedented consequences to the public sense of community, social cohesion and wellbeing.

In addition to its Submission, the Society is pleased to have met with the Minister for Planning’s Chief of Staff and the DPHI staff last week.

26 May 2026