Inside the fight to turn this hard-won Sydney land into housing

An Aboriginal land council is planning to convert hard-won land claim sites into multi-storey apartments, setting up a high-stakes contest between economic self-determination, community resistance and the pressures of the city’s deepening housing crisis.

A former youth justice centre, a harbourside bowling club and north shore tennis courts would be converted to high-density housing, some complexes rising 18 storeys, among developments planned by the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council.

The proposals are shaping as a test of how land rights can translate into long-term economic independence in a city where land is scarce and fiercely contested by local governments and community groups concerned about density, heritage and neighbourhood character.

Land council chief executive Nathan Moran said the proposals address the “financial realities” of returned land that often comes with high maintenance costs but limited income streams.

“You’ve got every other Tom, Dick and Harry putting in housing development proposals – pubs, churches, charities,” Moran said. “Why are Aboriginal land councils considered any different? This is simply us doing our job and fulfilling our statutory obligations to improve the economic and social standing of our members.”

The developments include a plan to transform part of the Yasmar Estate in Haberfield – a historic 2.4-hectare precinct bordering Parramatta Road that includes a former children’s court, juvenile detention centre and the state-listed Yasmar House, from 1856.

Four residential buildings of up to eight storeys would be built on the eastern portion of the site, adding about 200 apartments in a suburb known for its single-storey Federation homes and tightly protected “garden suburb” character.

The council intends to pursue the development through the NSW government’s Housing Delivery Authority (HDA), a fast-track planning mechanism designed to increase housing supply and override local constraints. The HDA has indicated support, setting up a potential test case for land councils leveraging the planning framework.

The development’s scale has triggered resistance from residents and heritage advocates, who argue it is fundamentally at odds with Haberfield’s identity.

“It’s simply the wrong place for that sort of development,” said Angie Gallinaro, convener of Friends of Yasmar. “Haberfield is a historic conservation area. It will be objected to fiercely.”

Moran said the development would be confined to the footprint of a former asbestos-contaminated detention facility, currently being demolished, leaving the heritage-listed Yasmar House and its gardens untouched.

Among other land council housing proposals for sites secured through claims in 2022 are the former Waverton Bowling Club and Naremburn’s Talus Street tennis courts.

At Naremburn, its proposal for a 303-apartment tower of 18 storeys – on land leased to the Northern Sydney Tennis Association – was recently rejected by the HDA, although planning alternatives remain open.

Moran said the proposal addresses economic pressures. In 2022, the land council inherited the lease under which the tennis association paid $46,000 a year to Willoughby Council for eight courts, a figure Moran said does not cover basic upkeep.

“That’s less than $50,000 for operating eight commercial courts, 365 days a year – that doesn’t pass the pub test,” he said.

Tennis association president Wayne Pascoe argued the facility is a vital community asset that has received more than $500,000 in recent upgrades.

“Retaining community sporting facilities in high-density areas is essential,” Pascoe said.

In Waverton, the land council says it has spent more than $400,000 maintaining the former bowling club since gaining control in 2022. Housing is now being considered as a viable option and a similar debate is unfolding.

North Sydney Mayor Zoe Baker has warned an existing lack of public open space meant any redevelopment would be “strongly felt by the community”.

Moran said only about a dozen of its more than 180 landholdings were being considered for housing, with most retained for cultural, environmental and community uses.

In the Haberfield proposal, 10 per cent of apartments would be set aside as affordable housing, with a portion reserved for Aboriginal tenants. Revenue from remaining units would be reinvested into services and programs for members.

“Stable housing is the ticket out of poverty,” Moran said. “We are simply trying to achieve the objective of the Land Rights Act – for our people, for our future.”

The development push comes at a politically sensitive time as the NSW government is considering legislative changes that could restrict future land claims over sites used for community or sporting purposes. The NSW Aboriginal Land Council has described this as the most significant threat to land rights in four decades.

The land council is pursuing long-running housing plans at Patyegarang, or Lizard Rock, in Belrose, where development proposals have stalled for more than 20 years.