Stockland's $287 million Halcyon Braemar denied NSW fast-track

Stockland’s bid to fast-track its Halcyon Braemar land lease community through the NSW Government’s state significant pathway has failed, The Weekly Source reported. The Housing Delivery Authority’s 14 October finding is the second planning setback this year for the 235-home project in the Mittagong area.

Why it matters

Stockland’s proposed 235-home land lease community at 61B Old Hume Highway, Braemar, near Mittagong, has lost its bid for an accelerated planning route, The Weekly Source reported. The NSW Housing Delivery Authority considered the Halcyon Braemar proposal on 14 October and declined to recommend it for State Significant Development status, the pathway that would have moved assessment away from the local council. The outlet said the HDA’s published concerns covered the site’s location, access to services, the absence of a committed affordable housing contribution, and infrastructure and environmental constraints. For land lease operators weighing the HDA as a route around slow council panels, the finding shows the authority screens proposals on service access and affordable housing before assessment begins.

It is the second planning setback for the project, according to the outlet. In February, the Wingecarribee Local Planning Panel refused an earlier application for 238 independent living units on the same site, branded Halcyon Retreat, citing earthworks, road design and site layout. The outlet said that application had waited more than 500 days for a decision. Stockland then took the dispute to the NSW Land and Environment Court, launching action against Wingecarribee Shire Council. Both applications cover the same Braemar site, pursued through two different approval routes.

The numbers

The Weekly Source put the Halcyon Braemar development’s value at about $287 million, drawn from Stockland’s own property portfolio reporting, and said the rejected independent living application had carried an estimated development application cost of $167.4 million. The outlet also cited PwC’s inaugural national land lease survey, which found NSW land lease approvals take an average of 17.4 months, context it offered for how long Stockland has now spent pursuing approval at Braemar.

What’s next

Without the State Significant Development pathway, Stockland’s options narrow to pressing on with its Land and Environment Court action against Wingecarribee Shire Council over the Halcyon Retreat refusal, or revising the Halcyon Braemar proposal to address the concerns the HDA cited.