On the 30th July 2015 the Land and Environment Court of NSW handed down the decision in Botany Development Pty Ltd v Council of the City of Botany Bay.
The 154 unit residential development marks the end of any remaining speculation about the apartment sizes to be applied in conjunction with the State Environmental Planning Policy 65 – Design Quality of Residential Flat buildings.
The bottom line is that new development applications, after 17 July 2015, will be assessed under the new Apartment Design Guide July 2015.
The following table shows the difference in apartment sizes from the old DCP.
|
Apartment Type |
Minimum Area DCP |
Apartment Design Guide |
|
Studio |
60m2 |
35m2 |
|
One Bedroom |
75m2 |
50m2 |
|
Two Bedrooms |
100m2 |
70m2 |
|
Three Bedrooms |
130m2 |
90m2 |
John Higgins, Principal at MyPlace Estate Agents, commented that essentially the developers will be able to build 25% more on the same site, therefore reducing the cost per apartment. He believes buyers will see around a 15% saving in the cost of purchasing a unit in a new development built to these specifications.