Beachfront residents in one of Sydney’s most expensive suburbs have been divided by a bitter battle over an upcoming restaurant, just days after a similar dispute divided their neighbours.
More than 100 people have lodged public submissions against plans for a 170-seat restaurant overlooking Whale Beach in the city’s north-east.
The owners of the current apartment building applied in 2020 to renovate the building and convert it into a modern complex of housing, shops and restaurants.
They unveiled new plans in 2022, hoping to expand the restaurant’s capacity to 170 diners, 30 of them on an outdoor balcony.
But wealthy residents were up in arms as their idyllic seaside home became more crowded, with fewer parking spaces seen as a major concern.
Details of the dispute emerged after neighboring Palm Beach was rocked by furious backlash after a handful of locals blocked the extended opening hours of the revamped Boatshed restaurant, The Joey.
In 2022, more than 100 people made public submissions against plans (pictured) for a 170-seat restaurant overlooking Whale Beach.
The owners of the current site of an eyesore apartment building (pictured) and a former cafe have submitted a proposal to renovate the building in 2020.
Whale Beach’s application was supported by Northern Beaches Council staff, but rejected by the Local Planning Panel, made up of independent planning experts and locals.
The panel concluded that the proposed larger restaurant would have “unacceptable noise impacts on adjoining and nearby residential properties,” the panel said. Sydney Morning Herald reported.
However, its decision was overturned by the Land and Environment Court last Thursday when it decided to uphold an appeal by landowner Leslie Cassar.
The owners have now agreed that the venue will be limited to a maximum of 150 people, and that limit will vary depending on the season and time of day.
The place can seat 150 people for lunch on weekdays year-round, but only 80 on weekends.
Between October and March, up to 130 people can sit for dinner on weekdays and 100 on weekends.
From April to September, the restaurant seats 150 guests during the week and 140 on weekends.
Commissioner Timothy Horton said during the ruling: “This is not intended to dismiss or diminish residents’ genuine concerns that parking is a source of stress and concern for those who live in the area.”
During a visit to Whale Beach, the court “saw for itself examples [of] illegally parked vehicles, drivers who do not respect stop signs and the like.
Longtime Whale Beach resident Leonor Gouldthorpe said the noise from the restaurant would make her life “unbearable.”
Whale Beach residents complained that a proposed restaurant expansion (pictured) in 2022 would cause too much noise.
To help reduce noise, the venue will limit bookings for groups of more than 100 people to 12 times a year, erect a 1.8m overlapping and covered fence and will serve a maximum of 150 people (pictured, Whale Beach ).
To help reduce noise, the venue will limit bookings for groups of more than 100 people to 12 times a year and erect a 1.8m overlapping and covered fence.
In evidence presented to the court, the Palm Beach and Whale Beach Association said it “thought the size should be proportional to the needs of the locals.”
The dispute erupted when an angry local from Palm Beach, next to Whale Beach, said the noise of people eating in a restaurant 600 meters away and an entire golf course would ruin his peace and quiet.
Stephen Jones later prevented The Joey in Palm Beach, the billionaire’s beachside retreat at the tip of Sydney’s northern beaches, from operating.
But that has angered other residents who support the restaurant, also known as Barrenjoey Boatshed, who stress that it is more than half a kilometer from its nearest neighbor.
More than 130 locals had backed the plan to extend the restaurant’s opening hours to 11pm each night, from 7am to 4pm daily and 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays. during summer time.
Co-owners Ben May and Rob Domjen recently spent $7 million renovating the famous cafe which regularly features in the Seven soap Home and Away, filmed on the nearby beach.
They changed the name of the secluded boathouse to The Joey Dining Room and Bar and applied to Northern Beaches Council to extend its opening hours.
While 132 locals submitted letters of support for the new restaurant, seven Palm Beach residents complained, causing the council to block the application.
Financial adviser Stephen Jones led the revolt against the request, saying it was “totally unreasonable” and would cause his family unbearable anxiety.
The Joey, in Palm Beach, also known as Barrenjoey Boatshed, is currently open from 7am to 4pm daily and until 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays during daylight saving time.
The boathouse is at least 600 meters from the nearest house in Palm Beach.
He said he had lived in the area for 22 years and that the late opening would cause “significant adverse acoustic impacts” on his neighbors 600 meters away, on the other side of the nine-hole golf course.
“I object… due to a significant increase in the duration of loud music and particularly deep bass effects that reverberate around the room and can be heard from inside our home,” Mr. Jones said in a submission to the council.
‘This loud music and deep bass rhythm significantly affects our comfort and well-being.
‘You can hear music and noise from customers inside my room.
“It is totally unreasonable that nearby residents should have to suffer noise problems because this place operates seven days a week.”
Another Palm Beach resident, Richard Kovacs, also opposed the proposal, stating that it would “significantly increase the noise level and disrupt the amenities of those who live and reside nearby.”
“It is a fact that when the previous operator held evening events on Friday and Saturday nights, the noise level affected local residents,” he said.
‘The Boathouse’s waterfront location amplifies the sound of the estuary beach very clearly and consequently the repetitive, loud and relentless sound bounces off the water and negatively impacts the residents’ amenities, much more than the applicant I would admit.
“Taking into account the impact, extending operating hours by seven hours to 11pm, seven days a week, is clearly unreasonable.”
Stephen Jones is one of seven Palm Beach locals who have complained about The Joey extending its opening hours.
The Joey is popular with Sydneysiders and tourists alike, having been the setting for countless scenes in Home and Away.
The restaurant held an opening ceremony on February 11 from 5 to 8 p.m.
A three-person council committee rejected the application, saying it was “likely to result in unreasonable impacts on the amenity of nearby residential properties”.