Residents of Forbes Street, Hornsby, have scored a major win in their fight against high-density overdevelopment.
In a decision handed down on 20 August 2026, the Sydney North Planning Panel unanimously voted to refuse Development Application DA/1086/2025, which sought to construct a seven-storey, 69-unit affordable housing residential flat building at 19–23 Forbes Street.
The unanimous determination follows widespread community outrage over the $30 million-plus proposal, which sought to replace three single-storey homes with a high-density block outside Hornsby’s designated Transport Oriented Development (TOD) boundary.
Central to the Panel’s decision was the formal rejection of the developer’s Clause 4.6 request to breach local building height and floor space ratio (FSR) limits under the Hornsby Local Environmental Plan 2013.
In Short
- Unanimous Refusal: The Sydney North Planning Panel rejected DA/1086/2025 for a seven-storey, 69-unit complex at 19–23 Forbes Street, Hornsby.
- Clause 4.6 Rejected: Requests to exceed local height and floor space ratio standards outside the TOD zone were formally denied[cite: 1].
- Deferral Denied: The developer's request to delay the determination was refused ahead of upcoming Land and Environment Court hearings.
- Community Pushback: Over 80 submissions were lodged raising concerns over local traffic, building scale, overshadowing, and creek flooding risks.
The Panel declared it was not satisfied that:
- Exceeding the maximum permissible height and FSR was unreasonable or unnecessary under the circumstances.
- There were sufficient environmental planning grounds to justify contravention of established standards.
During the public determination meeting held via videoconference on 19 August, the applicant requested a deferral to submit amended plans addressing the Statement of Facts and Contentions (SoFAC). However, the Panel firmly rejected deferring the decision, noting there was insufficient time for Council assessment prior to Land and Environment Court (LEC) hearings scheduled for early September 2026.
The decision brings welcome relief to local residents who rallied strongly against the scale of the complex. A total of 74 public exhibition submissions and 8 court-process submissions were lodged, alongside passionate verbal presentations from community members during the meeting.
Key community concerns formally acknowledged by the Panel included:
- Scale & Character:Â Incompatibility with the existing streetscape and excessive bulk within an R3 zone.
- Precedent:Â Risk of setting an unchecked precedent for high-density development outside TOD zones.
- Amenity & Safety:Â Overshadowing, privacy loss, acoustic impacts, tree removal, and increased traffic congestion around Pretoria Parade and Wanderers Way.
Environmental Risk: Potential runoff and flooding impacts given the site’s proximity to a nearby creek.
What’s Next?
While the Planning Panel’s unanimous refusal aligns with Hornsby Shire Council’s assessment, the matter is still set to go before the NSW Land and Environment Court for an on-site hearing in early September. However, the Panel’s decisive rejection of the Clause 4.6 variations provides residents with a powerful precedent as the legal proceedings move forward.
