A $12 million mixed-use development that significantly breaches both height and floor space limits is being proposed for the centre of Brunswick Heads.
Proposed by the former Channel 9 CEO-turned developer, David Gyngell, the development would span two lots at 3-5 Fingal Street, currently home to the town’s Centrelink office and a residential property.
High-end apartments
These buildings would be demolished and replaced by a three-storey mixed-use development with a total floor area of 2,044 metres.
This would include five commercial tenancies on the ground floor, topped by 13 high-end apartments, each with two or three bedrooms spread across the second and third levels.
‘The primary objective of this proposal is to create a mixed commercial and shop-top housing development with a high level of design excellence that contributes to the Brunswick Heads town centre,’ the developer’s statement of environment effects says.
‘The proposal will provide for a range of uses to serve the needs of the people who live in, work, and visit Brunswick Heads.
‘The proposal will contribute to employment opportunities and economic growth… [and] contribute to a vibrant and active local centre.’
Significant breaches
However, at 10.3 metres, the proposed development exceeds the height limit for this part of Brunswick Heads by 14 per cent.
The density of the development is also well over the limit, exceeding the current permissible floor space ratio for this part of town by over 30 per cent.
The developer says the height exceedance is justified because it is ‘consistent with adjacent development and the setting back of the upper level reduces the perception of the building height from the street level and surrounds.’
The floor space ratio breach has been justified on the grounds that, ‘the provision of residential accommodation within the existing town centre in the form and scale proposed warrants support for the requested variation’.
Your say on DA
Whether the residents of Brunswick Heads agree with these arguments remains to be seen.
The development application (DA) for the project is currently on public exhibition with Byron Shire Council until 7 February.
To view the full application and have your say use the DA tracker tool on the Byron Council website (www.byron.nsw.gov.au) and search for DA 487 under submissions lodged in 2025.
Centrelink stays in Brunswick Heads
A spokesperson from Services Australia said that there were no plans to close the Centrelink office at Brunswick Heads.
The spokesperson said that, should the DA for the new development be approved, they would then begin the process of looking for new premises in the immediate vicinity. It was also possible that they would look to take on a lease in the new development, if it were to be approved.
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