In the quest to block the Minns government’s low- and mid-rise housing reforms, Woollahra Council has literally gone underground and wishes to halve the number of parking spaces required in new apartment buildings to deter developers from carrying out major excavating works for car parks.

The council is also shaping up to demand Rose Bay and Double Bay be corralled from the government’s building policies. It follows residents’ concerns that construction works in their flood-prone suburbs have caused neighbouring homes to “crack”, and “sinkholes” to appear in low-lying land.

The reforms, which permit apartment blocks of up to six storeys near town centres and transport hubs, came into effect in February and have triggered 14 local multistorey development proposals, including plans for a six-storey development opposite Rose Bay Beach.

Woollahra Mayor Sarah........

© The Sydney Morning Herald