06/06/2026
Increasing housing supply alone will not solve the housing crisis yet that appears to be the sole focus of the state government’s new Housing Delivery Authority (HDA).
This planning process removes local planning powers and prioritises announcing numbers of approved dwellings over liveable cities.
10 Dangar Street Wickham is the second development to be assessed under this State Significant Development HDA pathway after the highly controversial proposal at 47 Darby St.
This Wickham site is adjacent to the Newcastle interchange and was previously approved for a 60m tall ‘Bowline apartment’ building before the site was purchased by a new owner.
This location is included in the carefully considered Wickham Masterplan which took community, Councillors and Council staff years to formulate and agree to. This Masterplan allows the height limit to be increased from 45m to 60m only if additional improvements are made to the area by the developer.
The current proposal put forward by Urban Property Group is not clear on exactly what building height they are suggesting.
They are asking for a height re-zoning for 117m, but their designs show a 43 storey building with an RL of 152 which is between 145-150 metres tall.
That’s 250% higher than original height limit of 45m and 150% more than the Wickham Masterplan height of 60m.
To be clear, this is an extreme proposal that is completely ignoring Newcastle’s planning controls.
Under the HDA pathway, if a developer provides 15% affordable housing for 15 years, they are permitted at 30% height uplift. This would allow a height limit of 78m. I support incentives to include affordable housing, but these should be in perpetuity, not temporary.
The proposal makes no mention of Newcastle Council’s Affordable Housing Contribution levy which requires 1% of affordable housing to be provided in perpetuity.
Have your say on this proposal in the NSW Planning Portal for ‘10 Dangar St Wickham mixed use development’ before 9th June.
The link is in my bio too.
